


Of Outlaws and Family

by MiniMoose23



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Gang Behavior, Death, Death Threats, Dutch's boys - Freeform, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Character Death, Red Dead Redemption 2 Spoilers, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Swearing, Threats, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, van der linde gang - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:22:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniMoose23/pseuds/MiniMoose23
Summary: When a mysterious female nearly tramples poor Dutch, running from O'Driscolls, the gang leader's interest is piqued and he sends Micah and Bill to help her. Scarlet, having been on her own for years with her eight -almost nine- year old son James, proves herself more than capable of handling a small group of O'Driscolls as well as men in general. The fierce, half Irish woman is welcomed into the Van der Linde gang by Dutch himself, as a means of protection of her and her son. Follow her story (diverging from the game's story line here and there) and decide how her story will end! There will be about 6-8 different endings to this story. Each diverge from different points but for now I'll be focused on posting the main ending that I want and NEED after the gut wrenching hell that was the game's ending.NOT Beta'd, all mistakes are my own. Please point them out if you find any!
Relationships: Abigail Roberts Marston & Original Character(s), Arthur Morgan & Original Female Character(s), Arthur Morgan/Original Female Character(s), Charles Smith & Original Female Character(s), Dutch van der Linde & Original Female Character(s), Hosea Matthews & Original Female Character(s), Jack Marston & Original Character(s), Javier Escuella & Original Female Character(s), John Marston & Original Female Character(s), Josiah Trelawny & Original Female Character(s), Karen Jones & Original Female Character(s), Leopold Strauss & Original Female Character(s), Mary-Beth Gaskill & Original Female Character(s), Micah Bell & Original Female Character(s), Molly O'Shea & Original Female Character(s), Reverend Swanson & Original Female Character(s), Sadie Adler & Original Female Character(s), Sean MacGuire & Original Female Character(s), Simon Pearson & Original Female Character(s), Susan Grimshaw & Original Female Character(s), Tilly Jackson & Original Female Character(s), Uncle & Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> So I have RDR2 beat to 85% completion (the compendium isn’t finished but the story section is) and I CRIED when my precious Cowboy died! I had high honor and helped John so there was that at least I suppose... This has eight parts so far so...uhh be prepared for this. It’s a helluva ride. It follows the story in the game for the most part, I changed some missions and added in a few for my own personal reasons....so yeah... Don’t worry, there’s gonna be a happy ending! I promise. Kinda. I have a lot of the story already planned it’s just a matter of getting the next chapters cranked out. Also Hosea and Dutch are a thing in my eyes... Dutch never corrected nor denied Hosea when he said “the curious couple and their unruly son” soooo I took it and ran. 
> 
> I am from the south and I drop ‘d’s, ‘g’s and do a buncha (<\- example) other stuff when talking irl so I’ve added that into the story and tried to keep the same type of dialect (is that the word I’m tryna think of?) as they have in the game with accents. I also am trying (and editing) the Irish accents I have for Sean and Molly! If you think anything can/should be changed, please lemme (<\- another example) know! Or if you can’t figure out a word/phrase I’ll help or have it in parenthesis if I know some people might have a hard time getting the accent if they’re trying to speak it aloud to hear it for themselves (my friend does this occasionally).
> 
> Warnings specific to this chapter: Cursing, typical gang violence (shoot outs/shoot ups/gangs,bushwhacking. etc), mentions of death/dead gang members
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> My work is not to be posted elsewhere; I have this posted to my tumblr @marvel-redemption-omega as well.
> 
> Word Count: 3,246

“Faster, Girl, faster! Go! We gotta get home before them!”

“You think you can outrun us? You owe us, Little Lady!”

“Get her!”

“Don’t let her get away!”

“Fancy, let’s go! Hyah!” She urges her horse on and leans forward, stirrups tied high on the sides of the saddle. The brown mustang tosses her head and breaks from her gallop to a flat out bolt. “Atta girl, c’mon.” The trees and rolling land all blurs as she and Fancy run along the road, she barely registers the white blip of a horse at the four way cross.

“Whoah!”

“Sorry, Mister! Can’t talk! Gotta run!” She turns slightly in her saddle to call the apology over her shoulder as her mare continues to carry her back home. The small band of people, behind the man she narrowly missed, watch her in curiosity.

“There she is!”

“Don’t lose sight of her again!”

“Try and cut her off before she gets over that hill!”

A group of seven men, each on their own horse, fly by as well, sparring not even a glance their way. The owner of the white stallion is stunned for a moment before he calms his horse and turns around.

“Bill, Micah, go after her and help with those damned O’Driscolls. We’ll continue on to get settled. Once we’re good, if they’re not back yet, we’ll go search for them. Come on,” he instructs and watches as aforementioned duo break off and tail the lady’s assailants.

“Dutch, why did you send them? You know how he acted with Mrs. Adler. Was it really wise to send both of them unsupervised?”

“Arthur, are you doubting me? We’re almost there and it shouldn’t take too awful long to set everything up so we won’t be too far behind them,” Dutch turns his horse back and clicks his tongue as they continue on.

“Looks like that was the last one, Ma. Want me to go start the bonfire?”

“Yes please, James. Take Fancy out to the paddock on your way. I left her hitched to the porch,” she answers and leans her gun against the wall. “I’ll get the horses that didn’t spook and start dragging these guys around back.” The boy runs out the back door and she can hear murmurs to her horse and the soft nickers in a sort of reply as he does as told. She sighs and opens her front door.

“Hello, Ma’am, we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Seems like we didn’t need to come help.”

Two men push their way inside as she darts back towards her table, picking up a rope lying on it. She lassos one of them and yanks him to the floor, hog tying him as a shotgun clicks as it’s cocked. The other man holds his hands up at the boy who is aiming the gun at him, startling back a few steps.

“Bill! Don’t just stand there! Do something! Untie me!” the hog tied man grumbles as he rolls onto his shoulder to look at his friend.

“And end up shot or like you? No thanks, Micah. I’ll stay here,” he snips and glances down. She uses the moment of interruption to her advantage and lassos Bill too, dragging him closer before hog tying him as well.

“James, hun, go start that fire. We might have more than I thought,” she orders and takes the gun from him as he passes. He shoots a glare over his shoulder to the strange men and dashes out the back door.

Dutch and Arthur look at the house where Bill and Micah’s horses are grazing. Arthur gives him a pointed look, which Dutch sighs at. They climb down from their horses and lead them to the porch and try to quietly walk up, checking around them for any traps or followers. The door is slightly ajar and a women’s voice, the same from earlier, filters out.

“You two have some nerve. Now tell me, what does Colm want now? I done told him I ain’t joining his stupid gang and I won’t warm his bed. If you think that I’ll do it for either of you then you’ve got another thing comin and not even half a mind between the two of you!”

“Well, Darlin’, you might be right about that. There’s not half a brain betweenst those two, but I do take offense that too you think we’re with that dirty, yellow bellied scum, Colm O’Driscoll.”

“Who the hell are you?” A shotgun is pointed at the two newcomers, and Arthur’s lips twitch up as his and Dutch’s hands go up.

“Dutch Van der Linde and this here is Arthur Morgan. I sent Bill and Micah here to help you with those fools, after you nearly trampled me,” Dutch smoothly states, walking forward as he speaks. She backs up to the other side of the table and raises her brow.

“Ma! Ma! There’s two mo-” James freezes at the back door, eyes wide as all attention focuses on him. “They’re already here. What do you want with my Ma?! She ain’t got no money! She don’t want no dirty O’Driscoll!” He shouts and moves so he’s beside his mother, eyes narrowed.

“That’s a tough little boy you have there, Ma’am. What’s his name? And yours?” Dutch stands just on the other side of the table, hands still up, no move made to untie his men, nor is there anyone else in the house, and he hasn’t reached for his pistols either.

“James. His name is James. And I’m Scarlet. Scarlet O’Hara,” Scarlet lowers the shotgun and places it on the table. “So if you’re not with Colm, why are you here? My…” she hesitates and glances at James,” his father isn’t in trouble is he? He’s not part of a gang.”

Arthur and Dutch share a look, glance at the grumbling duo on the floor, and back to Scarlet. They shake their heads and James wraps his arms around his mother’s waist, head resting on her stomach. She wraps her arm around his shoulders and leans down to press a kiss to his mop of dark brown hair.

“Considering we don’t know his father, by name or otherwise? No, we aren’t here about him. When I realized you we’re running from O’Driscolls, I figured you might need help. So I sent these two men to try and help you; though from the looks of your yard and what you’ve done to poor Bill and Micah, well, you didn’t need our help.” Dutch has a way with words, Scarlet will admit that. He’s charismatic and charming, easy on the eyes too. She likes him.

“Well, Mr. Van der Linde, care to help me drag the bodies out back to the pit? We burn any ones that manage to get too close,” she offers and hands James a knife, motioning to the men on the floor. “Cut ‘em loose, but don’t cut them or yourself, James.” The boy nods and cuts the rope on their wrists and backs up to Scarlet, leaving them to cut the rope on their ankles. He sets the knife on the table.

“Damn woman put these too tight to slip out of,” Micah mutters under his breath as he slices through the rope on his legs. He gets to his feet and helps Bill up as well.

“I think we can help with that. Any chance of more O’Driscolls coming this way?” Arthur leads the group out the front door, glancing at Scarlet over his shoulder.

“Maybe. I planned on burning down the house and headed out tonight. I have a wagon down yonder with our stuff and a horse. I was gonna saddle up Fancy and Shamrock and sneak there with James,” she admits and ducks her head a little in embarrassment. Dutch studies her for a moment as they gather the dead men and move them to the backyard.

“I have an idea. You’re free to say no of course, but we could always use more people. We could help give protection to not only you, but to your boy too. James seems like a smart kid, we’ve got another boy just a little younger than him. I’m sure Jack would love to have someone his age to play and hang out with.”

Ooooh, curse this man’s charisma. He’s bound to know I’ll do anything for my boy. Curse him, Scarlet thinks, hesitating in kicking her guy into the small, dug out pit. James helps roll the guy down then busies himself with the O’Driscolls horses, leading them to the pasture as he talks to calm them. There’s kindling starting to catch the logs and clothed bodies of the dead already in the pit.

“I always said I’d never run with a gang, though I fear as I don’t have much other choice. Not now anyway. They won’t stop coming after me and it’s not like I can hide here forever. They’ll find me eventually. I can’t have that. They can’t find out about James,” she confirms, voice filled with conviction. She nods to herself and turns to face the four men. “Dutch Van der Linde, you have yourself a new member. Just tell me all I need to know.”

They finish up the litter of bodies as Dutch and Arthur list the rules of the gang and all it entails, or what they feel they can share around James, with some protest from Micah, then all head back inside. Scarlet ushers them to sit around her table as she fixes them lunch, sending James to feed and water the horses when he’s done with his plate, which he obliges without protest. She keeps busy by cleaning the dishes and packing them as the men talk amongst themselves.

When James comes back inside, having fed and watered the small groups’s horses too, Dutch suggests they head out. He volunteers Arthur to stay behind and drive the wagon when she decides to leave and join them. Scarlet thanks them and sends them on their way with a promise to not be too long with the last of the packing.

It doesn’t take too awful long to get three full double-saddlebags put on the horses. James is sent to lead all the horses to the fence and hitch them to posts in preparation of saddling. Arthur offers to help James and Scarlet nods in thanks as the males head out the back.

Once the trio of horses are saddled, Scarlet ties Shamrock’s reins to Fancy’s saddle horn so he doesn’t spook when she lights the house. She helps her son get into Fancy’s saddle and rubs the brown mustang’s nose, up the white blaze between her eyes.

“Stay, Girl. I’ll be right back. Calm,” she coos to the horse and steps away. Arthur is waiting in his saddle, Fancy’s reins in hand to keep her calm, though Scarlet is positive she won’t spook and tells him as such.

It takes less than two minutes for her to grab her hidden cash and light the bedroom on fire. She leaves the door open as she walks down the front porch and towards the five horses, two being ones from the O’Driscoll members. She climbs into the saddle and Arthur hands her the reins, James sitting in front of her.

“Let’s go get your wagon and then head out. I think we can make quick work of the trip,” he suggests and James tilts his head up to look at his mom.

“Can I ride by myself please?”

Scarlet bites her cheek and hesitates a moment before nodding and slipping from behind him. She unties Shamrock’s reins and tosses them over his head and neck before hopping to his back and adjusting in the barely used saddle. He startles a little but settles down once Scarlet gives his neck a pat and reassures him it’s only her.

“Alright. I’ll lead you to the wagon, and then we can tie those extra horses to the back side of it so they can’t run off. I can ride your horse or lead him back if I ride Fancy. James can ride in the back of the wagon. Shamrock will follow wherever his momma, Fancy, goes,” she plans, though she’s talking mostly to herself until the end, and walks Shamrock to the hitching post to take the reigns of the O’Driscoll horses. They toss their heads and nicker softly as she ties the reins to the horn, leaving plenty of slack so her legs don’t get caught. “That should do it.”

“Lead the way,” Arthur gestures for her to lead and watches as James clicks his tongue and Fancy prances up behind Shamrock. He follows behind the boy and mother, smile on his lips.

“You know, I gotta admit, that was some fine handling of gang members. You sure you’ve never ran with someone before?”

Arthur’s question startles Scarlet slightly and Shamrock spooks, prancing to the left and pulling the two tied horses with him. She rubs his neck and soothes him before straightening in the saddle and kicking him slightly. James lets the reins rest on the horn, hands rubbing Fancy down as he sings her praises.

“No. My brothers are part of one, or were. I’m not sure anymore, haven’t heard from them in awhile. My parents weren’t too happy bout it but they were grown and both could handle their own with the best of them. Last I heard from them, I think they was in Blackwater. But that were years ago. Long before I were even pregnant with James,” her eyes stay trained on Shamrock, blinking back the withheld tears.

The thoroughbred-mustang cross tosses his head and neighs at her discomfort, slowing from a gallop to a trot despite her order to sped up. He pulls enough so the reins are from her hands and he turns to look at her, nickering softly. Fancy speeds up to trot as close as she can beside them, gently nipping at Scarlet’s boot.

“Mama?” James inquires, concern and fear in his quivering voice. She slouches in the saddle, hand going slack on the reins. She leans forward and whispers something to Shamrock before sitting back, looking at her son with a sad smile.

“Just miss my brothers, your uncles….that’s all, James. I wish you coulda met them. I wish I knew what’s happened to them or at least where they are,” she admits and reaches into her shoulder bag. She drops one sugar cube into her right hand and leans forward to feed it to her stud. She holds her palm out for Fancy who happily eats it, then turns to each horse tied to Shamrock, coaxing them softly to take the sugar. She holds her hand out to Arthur who hesitates a moment. “It’s just a sugar cube, ain’t gonna poison your horse. I’d be stupid too,” she chuckles as he accepts the horse treat. His horse tosses his head as he pats his neck.

“Well, I guess you’re right. Can’t be too careful though,” he huffs a small laugh as he rubs his horse’s neck as it nickers happily.

“Mm. That’s the wagon, just ahead,” she nods to a wagon stashed between several trees and bushes. Arthur moves his horse to her other side to get a better look at where she’s pointing. It hadn’t been a far ride, and there’s a horse already tied to the front, pawing at the ground in wait.

“How did you get to own three horses? If you don’t mind me asking,” Arthur asks as they slow to a walk until they reach the tied wagon. Scarlet shrugs as she slips easily from the saddle and leads Shamrock to the back to tie him to one of the trees and undo the other horses.

“My mom. Fancy was hers. Well, technically my grandmother’s but when she couldn’t take care of them my mother offered to take them and well, when I was ready to leave she said I could have Fancy since she don’t ride no more. Said it would be good for her to be with someone she trusts and who would actually ride her and take care of her. She’s pretty old, thirty five or six I think,” she admits and kisses Shamrock’s nose when he puts his face in hers.

“Shamrock was born a few years after I was, so he’s roughly my age. Maybe five years younger. That,” Scarlet points to the horse on the wagon, “asshole is Shasta. He is a moody jerk who I sometimes have to fight just to put up for the night. I got him in a race. Before I were pregnant with James, I would race Fancy. Bets for money or horses were traded, depending on my opponent.

“So I beat the guy who owned him. I felt bad though cause Shasta was young then, only two at the time. His owner, a real rich prick, hit him in the face with the butt of his pistol. So I lassoed the guy off Shasta and hogtied him. Fancy just let me do my thing since she’s seen almost everything, my old girl.

“Shasta spooked so I tossed the guy on Fancy and caught Shasta, lassoing him and calming him. When I climbed into that man’s saddle, I swear he didn’t even have him broke, just listening out of fear. He immediately started bucking and kicking like crazy. I wore him down and tied him to Fancy so I could rid him of the horrid saddle. It was too big for his back! I beat the guy up a bit and yelled at him about his abuse of the poor horse and made him swear to be better. Then I looted the saddlebags and the guy for all he had on him and dropped him and his saddle on the side of the trail we were on after cutting his wrists free. I rode with Shasta tied to Fancy back to my old place and have had him since,” she recalls, chuckling at the memories of that day.

“Sounds like you like gettin into trouble, or at the very least, causin it. Should I ask Dutch to rethink this invitation? We don’t need any more trouble,” Arthur jests, climbing off his horse to help unsaddle the O’Driscoll horses.

“Nah. I’m not gonna be the cause of it. I usually just wind up pulled into it. We can change Shasta with these two so they can’t break away and run off on us. I’ll ride him and my two will follow. Unless you’d feel comfortable tying him to the back,” she rambles as she helps James into the back of the wagon before moving to help Arthur with the saddles.

“Two horses work better than one. I think I’ll let you handle unhooking Shasta though. Sounds like he’s a right brute when he wants to be,” he hefts a saddle and puts it in the remaining room in the wagon, ruffling James’ hair in passing. James sticks his tongue out at the man before clambering closer to the seat and waiting for them.

“Aha, yeah. You’re right. He’s a brute alright,” she chides and rounds the front of the wagon after adding the second saddle on top of the other one. “Go ahead and slip their bits out and I’ll settle Shasta, get him dressed in Fancy’s saddle.”


	2. New Friends, New Family, Old Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur accompanies Scarlet and James to the camp, but Shasta (the ever temperamental horse) decides to do what he wants. Scarlet gets to meet the rest of the gang and we get a glimpse more into her past. What all is she hiding? Is she a worthy asset to the gang? Dutch and Arthur seem to think so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter in particular: Cursing, typical gang violence, death, dangers of horse riding
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> My work is not to be posted elsewhere; I have posted this to my tumblr @marvel-redemption-omega
> 
> Word Count: 7,962

The sun is warm on their skin, filtering through the trees as they make headway to the camp. Arthur’s driving the wagon, answering the questions James has about being a cowboy, while Scarlet rides Shasta to their left; Fancy, Shamrock, and his horse -Smoke- following behind her. James climbs into the seat from the back and takes the reins when Arthur hands them over.

Scarlet clicks her tongue and squeezes her thighs, urging Shasta to speed up so she can scout ahead. She turns to her other horses and tells them, sternly, to “stay with James” before she and Shasta run ahead to make sure there’s no O’Driscoll ambushes. When she’s satisfied, and Shasta’s prancing anxiously to move again, she turns him back to meet up with Arthur and her son, the heat of the afternoon sun now hot on her back.

“Hyah!” She kicks Shasta and he throws his head, breaking into a dead run back the way they came. He skirts and prances up to Fancy on the left of the wagon as they slow up. “All clear for about a mile up the way. I can drive the wagon if you wanna ride,” she offers as she reins Shasta up beside the front of her cart.

“That’s fine, we’re almost there anyway,” Arthur shrugs and takes the reins back from James. She looks at her son and relaxes at his smile. It’s not something he usually does around strangers, let alone men. James whistles and Fancy slows from beside Scarlet and rounds the back of the wagon until she’s beside the front side. The mare nickers as she keeps pace with the wagon to stay near him. Shamrock and Smoke follow at the back of the wagon in calming comfort, ears forward at the sound of James’ whistle.

“If you say so,” she hums and pats Shasta’s neck, cooing to him about how he’s been doing so well today. He nods his head a few times and side steps several times.

“He a’ight?”

“Yeah, he just likes to run. Like I said before, I usually fight him to put him up. He’s a racer, that’s for sure. If you don’t mind watching James, I’ll take Shasta for a run to wear him out, that way he’ll be easier to deal with. Especially with a bunch of new horses and people,” she clicks her tongue and loosens her hold on the reins when Arthur nods. The buckskin jumps to the side and bucks for a moment before dashing down the not-as-worn-down path that runs parallel to the road the wagon’s on.

Scarlet gives her horse the reins as she adjusts herself in the saddle from his bucking. He snorts and tosses his head as he kicks up his speed, the dirt and sand flying from under his hooves with every impact.

They make it across the railroad tracks and near Valentine’s train station before she pulls up on his reins, giving the command for him to slow up. He resists at first but slowly comes down from his run to a gallop then to a trot and finally to a fast paced walk. She turns him in a few circles before leading him to the general store. She hitches him to the post, rubbing his neck and giving him a carrot from her bag before she goes inside. She takes the advantage to stock up on canned fruit and vegetables as well as get provisions for her horses.

As she saddles back up, a few men huddled just outside the saloon take interest in her. She ignores them until one shoots their pistol into the air. Shasta immediately throws his weight forward, bringing his rear legs up and kicking the guy behind them who fired the weapon. The others holler and yell as she tries to settle Shasta by spinning him in circles. The other four mount up and she lets her horse take charge, facing him towards the stables where his ears perk and he bolts into the plains.

She hears the shouts of the males behind her and she doesn’t need any more confirmation that they’re O’Driscolls. She’s seen enough of them to know who they run with by their clothes and what breed of horse they have. They all ride Morgans or Kentucky Saddlers, neither great for long distance endurance like her Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Mustang. She knows she can easily outrun them, but she has a better idea.

Once they’re outside the town, she leads Shasta to the river on their right and dismounts, leading him to the trees where she leaves him to graze. Grabbing her pistols, bow, and one of her rifles, she heads for the rocks by the river for cover. She can hear the bickering and cursing of the group as they approach, the one having been kicked griping about his body aching. It’s not the first person Shasta’s kicked and Scarlet knows he won’t be the last. She’s grateful her horse is so fine tuned to instinct and took it upon himself to initiate the chase.

She isn’t left waiting for more than a minute or two before the gang members are jumping from their horses to search for her. She pulls one of her throwing knives from her belt and aims for the one left in the saddle, the one Shasta kicked. She smirks as the blade buries itself in his skull without a sound and he slumps forward then falls to the ground. The horse spooks at the sudden thud of his body on the earth and it causes the rest of their horses to run as well, leaving the men running back to see why their horses startled. Upon seeing their man down, they shout and curse her.

“Come on out! You’ve done it now!”

“Wait until Colm gets ahold of you!”

“Why don’t you just make this easy on us? Come on out.”

“Stop hiding! The longer you hide, the worse things are gonna end!”

Scarlet scoffs to herself and pulls her bow from her back and notches an arrow. She pulls back and aims at the closest one, his back to her. She lets it go, grinning as he drops with the arrow through his chest. She quickly and quietly moves from her spot and up the hill to get a better vantage point on the last three. They’re yelling and checking their fallen comrade to try and figure out where she shot from, eventually one venturing to where she had been behind the rocks.

“Two down, three to go. Let’s see if I can take out two of you in one,” she murmurs aloud to herself as she swaps her bow for her rifle. She opens the chamber and nods when she sees a round chambered. She shuts it and holds the gun up, looking through the scope, focusing on two of the O’Driscolls.

She waits until they move, and oh how sweet it is when all three of them line up almost perfectly! She aims for the middle of the first guy's chest and squeezes the trigger. A loud bang rings out as she does so, echoing in the distance. All three men glance down and then to where she stands from the treeline before their bodies fall to their knees then drop to the ground. She releases the shell casing and reloads the gun, slinging it onto her back and going over to them. She searches them and takes everything they have from gum to money, going to the other two to confirm they are dead before doing the same to them.

“Aha, look at that boy, their horses are just over there. What say you about takin them to the stables an sellin’em?” She asks as she stows her rifle and bow and climbs back into the saddle. He snorts and paws at the ground in response and she laughs, patting his neck. “Me too, Boy, me too. Let’s catch’em. Come on.”

She clicks her tongue and Shasta sets a slow pace toward the four horses grazing just a few yards away. She whistles and they all raise their heads, nickering softly before going back to the grass. Shasta neighs in what Scarlet assumes is a greeting and she slips from his back, speaking in hushed murmurs to the closest horse. He shuffles for a moment, looking from Shasta to Scarlet, before closing the gap and nudging the woman. She pets him for a minute, talking to him calmly, reassuring him that he’s alright, and pulls his reins over his head and ties them to her saddle horn. He pulls a bit but stays beside her horse as she moves to collect the other three.

Within five minutes she has them all tied by the reins and starts undoing their saddles, occasionally having to stop to soothe and calm them. She checks the saddlebags once all four saddles are off and climbs on Shasta’s back, leading them to the stables. Scarlet pulls back on the reins as they come up, urging her horse to the hitching post near the front. He stops by it and she praises him.

“Howdy, Sir. I have a couple horses I’m lookin to sell,” she greets the stable man. He tips his hat as she clambers down and unties the reins.

“Is one of them that Standardbred? He’s quite handsome. Looks fast too,” he muses, walking over to help her with the horses.

“Unfortunately, my Shasta isn’t for sale. He’s not one for the faint of heart. He’s too high spirited and rowdy for most. He needs a firm hand and someone to race him, so he’ll stay with me for a while yet,” she chuckles at the man, handing him two sets of reins. “Two Kentucky Saddlers, one black and one red roan. Two Morgans, one chestnut, one flaxen chestnut.”

“How friendly are these four? You didn’t steal them did you? I can’t have stolen horses bein sold here, it’s bad for business,” he asks as he leads the two horses inside. She follows close behind with the other two.

“If by stole you mean took from the group of bandits that tried kidnappin me? Yes. Fuckin’ O’Driscolls,” she grumbles, arms crossed as she watches the stable owner do a quick health check on them.

“Then that’s not really stolen is it? I think that counts as self defense,” the stable owner admits as he finishes up with the last horse. “Well, they’re all pretty healthy, though that chestnut has a swollen right front leg. She should be good as new in a few days. Aside from that, the most I could give for them is about two dollars each,” he explains. Scarlet mulls the price over for a moment before nodding.

“Alright, two each. Make sure someone who’ll take care of them gets those horses yeah? They deserve better than what they had, ride easy too and didn’t nip or buck when I went up to them,” she states as she turns towards the large barn doors, whistling for her own horse. The stable owner pulls the owed bills from his pocket and hands them to Scarlet. She pockets it with a nod and small smile. Shasta lowers his head to sniff at the few strands of hay by the doors and nickers before yanking his head and half rearing at her. “Ahh, he’s getting antsy again. Best be gettin ‘im home. Sir, thank you an you have a good evenin,” she thanks the man again and heads for the buckskin, clicking her tongue to calm him enough for her to get in the saddle again.

She makes it to the other side of Valentine before she has to stop Shasta. There’s a train at the station so she circles him to keep him calm while they wait, patting his neck and speaking to him. He snorts as the train pulls away and tries to pull on the reins to run, but Scarlet holds him back to a trot. He yanks on the reins again and she pulls back, forcing his head up and back to listen, making him stop.

“Hey, I said no. You need to calm down boy,” she warns him and loosens her hold on the reins so his head isn’t held back anymore. He snorts and paws the ground before moving at a trot as they cross the tracks He tries several more times to break into a run and on his fourth attempt being blocked, he starts bucking on the road.

Scarlet groans and tries to steer him out of the way as she sees two people riding up in the distance. She shifts her weight with Shasta, knowing he’s growing angry at not getting his way. He throws all his weight forward, slamming her into the horn and his neck before he rears, making her fall from his back. Once he feels her off his back, he bolts away from the incoming duo, who have sped up, and to the left. “Shasta!”

Her cry falls on deaf, pinned back ears as he disappears over the hills. She groans and picks herself up, stomping the ground and wiping the grass and dirt from herself. She’s swearing his name, curses strung together as they leave her lips almost like a prayer.

“What happened? Thought you knew how to ride?”

“Oh har har, you gonna laugh at me or help me get my horse back, Mr. Morgan?”

“I don’t know. That seemed pretty entertainin. What do you think, Charles? Should we help her?”

“Arthur.” The man named Charles sighs at the other man. Scarlet smiles at them and pulls an apple from her shoulder bag.

“Who’s a good boy, Smoke? You are. Huh? Yeah you are!” She coos as he happily accepts the apple. “Nice to meet you, Charles. Names Scarlet. Since James isn’t here I’m assuming you got to camp alright?” Charles smiles and nods his head.

“You too, Miss.”

“Yeah. He hitched your other horses, though we were worried ‘bout Shamrock for a minute there when he started rearin. Your son took mighty fine care of him though. He listened as soon as that boy spoke,” Arthur mused, eyes bright with mirth. Scarlet grinned.

“Ahh yeah. He’s still shy an skittish sometimes. I gotta break him of that. Charles, you mind if I give your horse an apple or carrot?”

“Not at all. Her name’s Taima.”

“Hey feller, you’re a good horse too huh? Yeah you are,” she pats his horse and offers the apple. Taima takes it and nickers happily, lightly nibbling her hand for traces of more until she pulls her hand away. “No more! That’s all silly girl.”

“Alright, enough bonding. We have a horse to catch. Come on, up ya get,” Arthur offers his hand and helps pull her up behind him. Smoke shifts at the unusual added weight before settling. Arthur turns with Charles, looking at the tracks.

“Looks like he went back this way over the tracks and that hill. With any luck he stopped there. Does he do this often?” Charles’ question is directed at Scarlet, but she’s busy readjusting from sitting side saddle to straddling the back of the saddle. They bring their horses to a gallop as they follow the fresh horse tracks pressed into the soft dirt.

“Kinda? He’s only fifteen but he acts like a three year old. If he don’t get his way he throws a tantrum, like the one y’all caught the end-a. Normally I ain't thrown. He threw me forward into the horn an his neck though an when it knocked the breath outta me he took the opportunity to rear an toss me,” she explains as she wraps her arms around Arthur’s waist. “Normally we just end up on a long run until he’s tired himself out. Then I make him at least trot home.”

“Did he have a previous owner?”

Scarlet sighs and recounts the story of her ownership of all three horses again to Charles as they make their way up the hill. She scans the ground, trying to see the tracks the men are looking at, but something shiny catches her eye.

“Hey, wait. What’s that?” She points to the left, by a cluster of small bushes. The silver metal reflects off the evening sun as the trio ride over to it. Scarlet slips from Smoke and picks up the item, cursing as she recognizes it. “He’s lost a shoe.” She stuffs the metal shoe into her pouch and clambers onto Smoke again, with Arthur’s help. They continue following the tracks, halfway to Emerald Ranch when Charles stops them, pulling out his binoculars.

“I think I’ve found him. Take a look,” Charles passes his binoculars to Scarlet as Arthur pulls his own out to look where his friend points. “Down in the dried river bed, rolling.”

Sure enough, Shasta is attempting to get his saddle off by rolling on it. There’s a small herd of about four horses that are watching him. They nicker and neigh, a couple rearing and kicking their front legs as they watch.

“What a wretch. Stupid boy,” Scarlet muttered as she hands the binoculars back. “Thank you, both of you.”

“Come on. Let’s go get your horse. Before he hurts himself,” Arthur chuckles and puts his binoculars away. They slowly make their way down the other side of the hill, towards the river bed where Shasta is struggling. The herd spooks as they draw near and piques Shasta’s interest. He scrambles to his feet, immediately propping his front right one like it hurts.

“Easy boy,” Charles calls out. Shasta’s ears are forward, listening to them. Scarlet slowly slips off Smoke and holds her hands up in front of her. When Shasta sees her, he pins his ears and snorts, letting out a mad nicker. She shushes him and reaches into her bag, pulling out something.

“Loose something, Boy? Lemme take a look at that foot’a yers,” she lets him see the metal shoe and he hangs his head in defeat, limping towards her. Arthur hops off Smoke as well, letting him graze while he helps Scarlet with her runaway. It takes a lot of coaxing but they eventually get Shasta to raise his hoof. Scarlet sighs at the sight. There’s dirt and mud and what looks like dried blood caked on the bottom.

“Come on. Let’s get him to the stables. They can put his shoe back on and probably get that foot taken care of,” Charles suggests. He tosses his lasso over Shasta’s neck as does Arthur, causing him to whinny and try to rear. Scarlet quickly grabs his halter and holds his face down, looking him in the eye as she soothes him.

“Come on, Big Dummy. We’re getting you someone to help,” she explains as she unties his reins, giving one to Charles and one to Arthur for them to tie to their horns so he can walk between them. Just added security for her if he somehow manages to break free of the lariats.

“Lucky you we came along when we did,” Arthur teases, lifting her onto the back of his horse. She smiles at him and thanks them again.

“Why’d y’all come lookin for me anyway?”

“Well, James said usually when Shasta acts up you can go for a run an be back within an hour or two. But when we got to camp an we got the horses hitched, fed, an watered, well James said you shoulda been on your way back. I knew you wouldn’t know where we were so I told Dutch I was comin to look for you. Asked Charles here to ride with me since he’s better at trackin than I am,” he explains, a hint of sheepishness in his voice as he compliments Charles. She grins and wraps her arms around him again as they turn back towards Valentine.

“Yeah. Usually, Dumbass here thinks he owns the world sometimes. I bet he’s feeling pretty low right now, ain’tcha Shas?” He huffs in reply and follows behind the trio. “I ran into some more O’Driscolls. I was comin outta the store an one of them tried callin me but I ignored them. Then he fired his gun in the air; Shasta spooked an kicked the shit out of him, which of course led to a chase,” she sighes and recalls her encounter with gang members. Charles shakes his head and Arthur tightens his hold on the reins. She reaches forward and rests her hand on his, chin resting on his arm as she looks up at him. “Hey, it’s okay. I should’ve had more control over him an not let him kick. But what’s done is done. I’m fine an the only injury is this Dummy. An it’s not too serious.”

“She’s right, Arthur. No need to dwell on the past,” Charles reasons. Arthur nods and relaxes a bit, which Scarlet is thankful for. She straightens as they cross the tracks and into Valentine. Shasta snorts as they near the stable.

“Here, I’ll walk him from here. It shouldn’t be too hard on him,” she suggests as they pull up by the individual corrals for horses. Arthur helps her down and he and Charles untie the reins and remove their lassos from Shasta as she reties his reins together. She leads him into the stable and greets the stable man again.

“Back so soon?”

“Yeah. This boy hurt himself. Lost a shoe and I think probably cut the underside of his hoof,” she pulls out the missing shoe and hands it over.

“Which one?”

“Front right. Shasta, here boy, lemme see your hoof,” she commands and grabs at the back of his knee, making him lift his leg slightly. She grabs it before he can drop it and he grunts in slight irritation at her touching his foot, but he allows it. “See?”

“Ahh yes. I can keep him stabled here and get all his hooves cleaned and re-shoe him in the morning. How’s four dollars sound?”

“Like you’re trying to rob me, Old Man,” she jokes and pulls out the money after letting Shasta put his foot down and rubbing his leg of any stiffness. “Good boy, Shas. Be a good boy for this nice man too, okay? I’ll get you in the morning,” she scratches his neck and places a kiss to his forehead. He whinnies, much like a whine, as she walks away from his stall. She turns and waves to him, thanking the owner again as she leaves.

“He all set?”

“Yeah. I can come get him in the mornin. I’m worried he’ll kick when he’s gettin shod, so I’ll probably be here for that. I can bring Shamrock,” she thinks aloud and puts a hand on Smoke’s rear. “Let’s get going. I’d like to see my boy again please.” She hauls herself behind Arthur and Charles chuckles at them as they ride out of Valentine and to their camp in the woods. Scarlet memorizes the path as best she can as they make their way at a gallop. She’s got a tightened grip on Arthur as she tries to look around and get her bearings. Charles slows a little, causing Smoke too as well, and drops back to speak with her.

“How long have you and your boy been on your own? Where’s his father?” He asks, one arm hanging loose at his side, the other holding the reins comfortably on the horn. She visibly tenses and turns a bit to face him, taking a deep breath.

“Technically? Since he was born. His father’s around, but we’re not together. It uh, well, it wasn’t expected and his family don’t like my kind. His father’s from way out west, they say from the islands. Some of his family are more tan, but he looks bout as pale as I do. Though I also look like I’m from Ireland and I’m not, grandparents on my Ma’s side were. Least my grandpa was,” she shrugs. “James knows of his father and I allow them time together, but it’s away from his family. If they knew he had a son with someone not native of the islands they hail from, well, let’s just say it’s about as bad as it is for anyone else in interracial relationships,” she sighs. Charles reaches over the small distance between horses and pats her shoulder.

“I understand better than you think. My father was a colored man, mother an Indian. The hate I got from that, well, I understand well enough,” he admits. Scarlet’s shoulders relax at his admission and she thanks him for sharing, resting a hand over his before he pulls away to avoid another rider.

“I’m sorry. People can be cruel and outright vicious for no reason. I hope James learns a thing or two from you,” she hopes and gives him a smile.

“Are you two done yet? We’re almost there. I’m sure Dutch will want to talk to you once you’re settled. We have rules here, you know the majority of them, but the most important is you don’t talk,” Arthur interjects. Scarlet hums behind him, nodding as she listens. “By that, I mean if you get caught you don’t know where camp is. You don’t know where Dutch is, you don’t know where nobody is. Loyalty is-”

“Loyalty is hard to come by and it’s one of few things that will keep me alive,” Scarlet cuts him off. It’s not exactly what Arthur was going to say, but it’s close enough. “Don’t worry. If it means havin my son protected, I’ll endure pain to high hell an back.”

“Right, well, good then. When you ride into camp, one of our guys will ask who it is to make sure it’s one of us, not someone like a bounty hunter. Just call out your name and they should let you in no trouble, if not, well, just holler for me and I’ll come escort you in,” Arthur offers.

“Same for me. Bill and Micah sometimes have a hard time trusting new people,” Charles states as they cut off the path and under two fallen trees making an X.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s just me and Charles, Lenny!”

“Oh, hey, Arthur! Who’s that?” Lenny asks as they approach the smaller boy. Scarlet smiles and nods to him.

“Scarlet O’Hara. Arthur here brought my boy and my wagon earlier?” She supplies as they slow to a walk to talk with him.

“Oh yeah! James is gettin along just fine. He was playin dominoes with Tilly just a bit ago. I don’t think he’s met Jack yet,” Lenny tells them as he waves to Charles and steps to the side so he’s not as noticeable in the path. “Y’all take care.”

“I like him. He’s a sweet boy,” she muses as Arthur leads his horse to the hitching post and climbs down. He offers his hand to her and helps her down as well.

“Yep. Lenny’s young, but he knows how to fight, he leads her to her horses, both lifting their heads and whinnying loudly as she approaches.

“Hey there my loves, y’all doin a’right?” She greets and rubs each of their noses and foreheads. They nuzzle her and Fancy nips at her bag while Shamrock nips at her hair. “Alright, okay, enough,” she pushes on their noses and they back off, heads bouncing a little. “Good boy, good girl. Y’all behave yourselves now ya hear?” She leaves them and follows Arthur to his wagon before he turns and points to the right of his.

“I set you up right here next to me. This way if you need anything you can come to me. Dutch is here on my left. We have a ledger and money box, pretty much somethin for us to give back to the group, yanno? So if you have any nice pelts or money or whatever you can contribute, just put it in the money box. It helps us upgrade not only our supplies but our wagons an livin too,” he shows her his wagon and hers before taking her to Dutch’s tent. “Dutch?”

“Ah, Arthur my boy, you brought her. Good good. Look, I have something for you two to do. I need two capable people to go after this lead. Now, normally I wouldn’t let someone new go, but Ms. O’Hara isn’t like the others we’ve had to teach, from what we’ve seen, so take her with you. There’s word of some good horses being found but unable to be broken, up past Valentine near the mountains. Some town folk mentioned they trapped them in a high fenced corral so they can’t jump out. Now, the rancher who found them and got the help to herd them into the corral is offering a decent price to break them, or at least one of them. I told the man that I’d have one of my men meet him tomorrow at the saloon. Just go early and tell him Uncle Tacitus sent you. I promise you won’t miss him. Scarlet, it’s good to have you with us. James was running around earlier after he got your horses settled. He’s taken a real liking to all the horses, and they him. Does he ride?”

“Dutch Van der Linde, you are not teaching my boy to be a gunslinger,” her tone is playfully scolding. “ Yes, he knows how to ride, but I only allow him to ride Fancy because she won’t spook or go too fast with him. He can hunt too, so I’m fine with him going hunting. So long as it’s with myself, Arthur, or Charles,” she reasons, chin out and tilted up a little in defying challenge. Dutch holds up his hands and laughs at her, nodding.

“Yes, Ma’am. Hunting only,” he accepts as he sits down in the chair near the opening. “I was asking if he rode because I’d like someone to be able to help Jack learn, if his mother doesn’t mind,” he clarifies as he looks up at them, elbows resting on his knees. Scarlet nods and crosses her arms.

“I can ask. Who’s Jack’s parents?”

“Abigail and John. Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone. Dutch, we’ll meet that guy tomorrow, if you’re sure,” Arthur begrudgingly agrees. Dutch nods and grabs a cigar from the small table beside him. Arthur gestures for Scarlet to follow him as he heads toward the small group gathering around the fire.

“Uncle Arthur! Uncle Arthur! I made a new friend! His name is James!” A little boy runs up to Arthur, bouncing on his toes as he glances over his shoulder at James. Arthur smiles and kneels.

“Is that right?”

Scarlet smiles at her son and crouches down to be eye level with Jack too. “Hello, hun. James is my son, he’s being nice right?”

“Oh yes ma’am! He let me pet the new horses that came in! He said they were friendly and he let me give them half a carrot each!” The little boy exclaims as he looks at her. “James is my new friend.” He repeats. She giggles at him and nods, glancing up at James who walks over.

“Did he now? Did he show you the right way to offer treats so they don’t accidentally bite you?” She coos to the young boy, hand out for James, who takes it and gives her a hug.

“Yes he did. He said my palm needed to be flat so they didn’t think any of my fingers were part of the carrot. He told me their names and said to pet their necks,” the boy rambles animatedly, gesturing with his hands.

“Yep, that’s with all horses. You don’t want to lose any fingers cause they didn’t know it wasn’t part of their treat,” she explains and gets back to her feet, ruffling James’ hair and kissing his head. “You’re Jack, right?”

“That’s right! My Ma and Pa are over here,” he turns and points to the campfire where everyone is sitting or lounging, eating bowls of stew.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Jack. I’m Miss Scarlet,” she states as the boy takes James’ hand and starts to pull him along. James shoots both adults a pleading look for help that they laugh at. Jack waves bye as he smiles brightly once the two children reach the group.

“Well, he’s sure cheerful for an only kid,” she laughs lightly as Arthur gets back on his feet. He agrees and they continue their small trek until Arthur grabs a bowl and fills it for her.

“Here. It’s not much, but Mr. Pearson’s an okay cook,” he offers her the bowl and sits by Charles with his own.

“Thanks, there’s so many interesting characters here. I’ve never known a group to be so...diverse,” she stumbles to find the right words for a moment.

“They’re family. It’d be weird to think of them as anything but,” Arthur acknowledges and tips his hat to Lenny, who he beckons over. “You’ve already met Lenny boy here. He’s one of the younger ones but he’s right good with a gun and I trust him wholly. Charles here hasn’t been running with us but a few months. Miss Grimshaw has been with Dutch almost for quite some time. I’ve been here since I was a boy. We just recently picked up Mrs. Adler this spring.

“We lost a lot of people coming from Blackwater. Some to the cold, harsh winter. Others from some from wounds received for runnin with us. Davey and little Jenny we just lost this winter,” he explains and points out those he names.

“Javier has been with us for a while too; Hosea and Dutch are like the leaders here. They’re a great team, both like fathers to me. This gang started as us three, then we grew. John’s been with us since he was a boy too, we found him like Dutch and Hosea had me. Poor bastard can’t swim. Then along came Abigail an well, shortly thereafter those two gettin together we had Jack. He’s about four or five now if I remember right. Mr. Pearson’s been here since I can remember.

“Strauss is here occasionally. When he’s not out loaning money to folks. Then I go play big bad cowboy to get the money owed. Uncle’s been here for quite some time too. He’s a lazy piece of shit but he will put in work, at least for Dutch. Bill, well, Bill’s somethin else. He’s ready to jump when Dutch says and I’m afraid that might get him killed one day. Then there’s Micah,” the way his voice changes makes Scarlet quirk a brow. There’s a story there and she’s not sure she wants to hear it. She makes a mental note to ask about his disdain of Micah later. She knows why she doesn’t like him, but she wants to hear his reasons for the obvious dislike of the group number.

“I met him. Bill too I think. They were the goons who barged into my house that I hogtied, weren’t they?” She asks, turning slightly in her seat to face him. Arthur pauses mid bite, spoon halfway to his mouth. He lets the spoonful back into the bowl and lets out a loud laugh.

“Yeah. You’re right. Dutch did send those two idiots to ‘help’ you. You handled them really well too. I wish you coulda seen it, Charles. She had them both hogtied on her floor. Did James help you?”

“No. I had him tossin some logs in the pit we had so we could burn the O’Driscoll corpses. Usually the horses run off and those that don’t I take to the nearest stable or fence to sell them. You learn a lot by being on your own.” She smiles and goes back to her soup, listening to the rest of the story about the remaining group.

“Sean, poor boy, was caught in Blackwater. I’m not sure if he survived or not. I hope so. He’s a good lad, Irish feller. Cocky bastard an stronger accent,” Arthur chuckles. “Reverend Swanson, he’s, well you’ll see. Then there’s Miss O’Shea. Molly. She’s, uhh, well she’s Dutch’s girl I guess? I don’t rightly know their situation. Just that he’s sweet on her, or used to be. Karen and Mary-Beth were some good girls we helped out, kinda like you. All our women are rowdy spitfires, honestly. Most won't take no for an answer. Tilly there, we helped her out too. Some fools were tryin to say they owned her because she owed them somethin or other. So we fought an brought Tilly with us. She’s a smart girl, loves dominoes too. She’s good at it.

“I believe that’s just about everyone but you and James. And the horses of course, but if you really want to know about them you’re better off asking the owner of each. I can tell you about Taima, Smoke, Old Boy, Silver Dollar, and The Count, Dutch’s horse, but that’s about it. The ones without saddles are the ones we have pullin our wagons.”

“Now that you know a bit about us, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?” Charles asks, bowl off to the side. Scarlet nods and takes another bite as she thinks over what she can tell them; what she feels comfortable with letting them know.

“Well, I have an eight year old son, James. I have three horses: Fancy, her son Shamrock, and the hard headed Shasta who’s gotta get his shoe fixed at the stable in Valentine. I am in touch with James’ father via letters but we are not together. Not really. I know it’s not normal but it’s somethin that I don’t wanna press on. We can’t be together and I’m content with him just bein a father to James, honestly. I’ve been on my own with him since he was a newborn; I don’t need anyone to help with him. He listens right for the most part.

“His father’s from the islands, by Cuba I think he said. Least that’s his heritage. I come from a nice southern home where my parents taught me to read and write, figuring I’d be the least problematic of the four. I grew tired of the constant raiders preachin bout needin to rise again an takin out yankees. The whole war never really sat well with me; makes me ashamed to say I called the south home for so long.

I haven’t seen my brothers in years, since before James was born, and haven’t heard a lick of’em either. My little sister is doing well I hear though, she’s got a nice ranch back home. I guess my parents are stayin with her now an she’s got a good man with her. As for me, I moved around a lot. I don’t much like a lot of people knowing my business. So when people start comin snoopin, I pack up an leave. Like we did today. Set the house on fire and leave when it’s dark.

“James came along after I met up with his father, a good friend of mine for years, to catch up. We hung out for the week he was in town, him staying at my place. We uh, well let’s just say neither of us expected him. We were drunk and we talked about our options once we found out. He said he was thrilled at the idea of being a father, despite his family’s anger if they ever were to find out. They didn’t ever like me hangin round him much, but that’s because I’m not an islander like them. He’s a decent father, sends money to help with clothes, asks when an where we can meet him so he can spend some time with James. Sometimes it’s annoyin we still gotta sneak around his parents, but I understand. They’d disown him an he’d be cast out. It’s a cruel, backwards way-a thinkin but it is what it is.

“There’s not much else too me. I never wanted to run with a gang but things change. The O’Driscolls raided my neighbors one night and they tried to raid my house the next night. I had a dog at the time, so they didn’t get far. James weren’t but maybe a year old at the time. Bless that baby, he was asleep when they came. Colm fuckin O’Driscoll just pushed his way passed his men, a few dead on my floor, said I could an would join him, warm his bed for awhile, an be part of his gang or face the consequences of tellin him no. I told him to eat shit an my dog came from the bedroom, snarlin and barkin at them. Colm shot him, right between the eyes, but not before Teague bit his thigh. His men had to help him onto his horse after that. He’d cursed my name an threatened they’d be back. So I made a makeshift carrier for James, saddled up Fancy an Shasta with anythin that would fit in the side bags, then loaded my bed, food, clothes, an necessities into the wagon Shamrock was hooked up to an left.

“They came back to a burned down house. I only know because a friend of mine said he was riding by the next mornin to check on me since he read about my neighbors in the newspaper an saw them searchin through the smolderin remains. He had taken me in when I had no where else to go. My parents place was too far an I couldn’t go see James’ father. Not with a baby. They’d talk. So I stayed low for a while, my horses locked in the barn with the wagon containin all my belongings at my friend’s. Then, when we were sure they weren’t actively lookin for me, we left an my friend helped set me up in a new place. A nice little ranch where I worked as a milkmaid. It wasn’t too bad. The rancher’s wife was more than happy to have another baby around as all her children were grown.

“She arranged for me to work five days with two off so I could spend that time with my son. When they found out I could ride an shoot, they asked if I could help do night security instead of full milk maid. Of course I took that offer. I’d rather be in a saddle than milking cows all day. I’d watch for wolves, coyotes, foxes an the like. Any raiders were shot too. My friend, bless him, brought Fancy to me because he knew she was the best around guns an new things. Shamrock and Shasta were, and are still, learnin.

“As soon as they saw how great of a pair we were, well, they asked if I’d been a gunslinger before. I answered honestly with no. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t taught how to act like one. My father was one, which I guess is one reason why my mom an him split. But then she found a nice man who took my older brother an myself in; helped my Ma raise us two. Then along came my little siblings an that’s it. Not too much interestin bout me,” she takes a breath before going back to her stew. By now, several of the others have gathered around them to hear about the new woman. Karen, Mary-Beth, Sadie, Abigail, Molly, an Susan circle on one side of the table to listen. James and Jack sat between her and Arthur, James closer to Scarlet and Jack closer to Arthur. Lenny makes a noise between a scoff and a chuckle.

“Sorry. I’m not laughin at’cha. I just find it funny that Colm got burnt by you is all. He’s not known to back down like that. From all I’ve heard he’s take what he wants, shoots, then maybe asks questions,” he explains as Scarlet nods along. She pushes her empty bowl away and taps James’, a silent request for him to finish his. He sighs but murmurs a “Yes, Ma” before he continues to work on his meal.

“Wouldn’t’ve thought you were. I’m not what most people expect. I’ve always had a wild streak, my Ma said on a number of occasions that it probably wasn't wise to have taught me to read and write because of it. Said if I didn’t learn to watch my mouth and self that I’d end up on the wrong side of a gang. Guess she was right,” she shrugs and wraps an arm around her son’s shoulders. “He’s my life though. And gang or not I’d kill every other damn gang alive if it meant keepin him safe.”

“Come on, everyone has their own tasks in the morning!” Dutch claps his hands, having been standing at the end of the table closest to Scarlet along with Micah and John. She startles slightly at his outburst, not expecting him beside her. “You can all talk to Miss O’Hara more later. She’ll be joining the group,” he addresses them. They disperse at his look, ‘goodnight’s and ‘see you in the morning’s being passed about them.

“Come now, Jack. Time to wash up and get ready for bed,” Abigail urges her son. He pouts but says goodnight to James who gives him a wave and turns in his seat, stew gone. He gives Scarlet a questioning look to which she gestures to their wagon. He excuses himself and disappears in the back of the wagon.

“Sorry about them. Sometimes they get carried away with questions and other’s personal lives,” Dutch apologizes on behalf of his family and friends. Scarlet smiles and gives him a shrug as she pushes up from the table.

“They’re not bad, weren’t hurtin no one. I won’t give James’ father the location here. Usually we go to him, meet him in a town or his place. Less worry for you an less work for me. It’s easier that way.”

“I’m not worried about you. I’m sure you have grasped a good understandin of what is expected and required of you here.”

“Of course. I do hope you don’t expect me to stay though. I can’t just not work. I can take on bounties and other jobs to help out,” she tells him as she steps away. “But, Mr. Morgan an I have a job to do bright and early. Shouldn’t be too hard.” Dutch nods as she slips by him to help James pull their sleeping bags and pillows from the back of the wagon.

“She’s something else,” Arthur shakes his head as he collects the bowls and takes them to Pearson’s wagon to be washed later. He heads to his wagon to get some sleep too.

“That’s for sure. You sure bout her, Dutch? I don’t like her joinin us.”

“What’s wrong, Micah? Still grumpy she hogtied you and Bill?” John teases as the trio walk to Dutch’s tent. Dutch smiles at their banter.

“You hush your mouth, cowpoke, before I mess up the other side of your face,” Micah threatens and reaches for his knife.

“Enough, Micah. John, you too. Knock it off. She’d have had you hogtied too,” Dutch warns, stopping their quarrel. “I think having her is a good thing. I think she’ll help us bring in the money we need to go somewhere we aren’t wanted. Don’t doubt me, Micah. She’s good for us,” he reassures his men. “Now go get some rest. We all have important things to do tomorrow. Micah, don’t forget you’re taking Lenny out scouting past Valentine.”


	3. We Make A Good Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet and Arthur head off into the mountains by Roanoke to help the rancher break some horses. Get ready for cute bonding moments, sass, innuendos, and overall fluff. Here you get a chance to see more of Scarlet's personality with those she feels safe and comfortable with and around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings specific to this chapter: Cursing, typical gang violence, dangers of horse riding/breaking, sexual references/innuendos
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> My work is not to be posted elsewhere; I have posted this to my tumblr @marvel-redemption-omega as well.
> 
> Word Count: 8,432

James and Jack are two of the first to be up and about. James takes it upon himself to teach Jack about some of the birds that are perching in the trees near camp. The younger boy is enthralled and asks lots of questions that James can mostly answer. Abigail and Arthur are the next two to begin roaming camp. Arthur watches the boys while Abigail wakes John and the other females. She comes to fetch her son once most of the camp is up. James shyly approaches Tilly and Arthur can hear him asking if she’ll teach him how to play dominoes as good as she does. He chuckles and shakes his head as he makes his way to Scarlet’s wagon. He hasn’t seen her yet, figuring she was still asleep.

“Scarlet? Miss O’Hara?” He calls when he sees two empty sleeping bags. He circles the wagon and sighs at the lack of her. James spots Arthur and catches his eye, waving him over.

“Ma’s over there,” he says, pointing to the hitching posts with Fancy and Smoke. Shamrock’s lying beside his mother, tucked nearly under her hooves, but the mare doesn’t seem to mind. Scarlet is between Smoke and Fancy, brush running over the mustang as Smoke sniffs at Scarlet’s back and nudges her. Arthur nods and thanks James before making his way over to them. Smoke nickers as he nears.

“Who’s a good girl? Huh? You are, my sweet girl. Such a good girl. You like gettin brushed an pets, don’tcha girl?” Scarlet baby talks her horse, laughing as Fancy bobs her head, her mane bouncing and falling into her eyes. “Yeah, that’s mah good girl.”

“Do you do this every mornin?”

“Shite!” She jumps at the new voice.

Scarlet tries to catch the brush before it hits the ground, but fails. She shoots a mock glare at Arthur as she bends down and snatches up the muddy brush. He chuckles and holds his hands up. He moves to his horse and strokes his nose.

“Yeah. I brush them both out in the morning an usually in the evenin too. Shamrock’s already done, he’s just an ass an prefers to be dirty,” she says the last part to the horse, which he flicks his ears back at her to show he’s listening. As if to prove her point, he rolls away from Fancy, wallowing in the dirt. “Smartass.”

“They’re quite the characters you have. Your boys are at least,” Arthur comments, patting Smoke’s neck and offering him a beet. He happily eats it and shakes his neck and head with a whinny.

“They’ve got flare with attitude to boot, no doubt. This old girl is my rock though. Fast, reliable, an sturdy. She can do all terrain an loves to race, even the wild horses we pass. I’m pretty sure she had her own herd when she was younger,” Scarlet admits and puts the brush on the post for later use. Fancy nibbles at her shoulder and nudges her. “Alright already, knock it off.” She digs in her pocket and gives Fancy a sugar cube for being so good for her.

“You ready? We might have a long ride ahead of us.”

“Gimme a sec, lemme talk to James before we go. I also wanna stop and see Shasta. I’ll need my saddle off him too. Can’t ride Fancy bareback for long with her age.” She agrees and ducks under the hitching post to meet her son. They talk for a moment before James wraps his arms around her and she brushes her hands through his brown hair. Arthur watches as she leans down and kisses his forehead and gently pushes him towards Abigail who is beckoning him, Jack calling for him. The two women exchange a short conversation and Scarlet nods with a laugh at whatever Abigail says before they wave and she’s making her way back to him.

“Good?”

“Yeah. Abigail asked if I could get something for her on our way back. Told her I would since she’s doin me a huge favor and watchin James. You ready? I’ll ride Fancy to the stable, we can get her saddled and I’ll check on Shasta then we can get goin,” she suggests and joins him between the two horses. Shamrock climbs to his feet and lowers his head under his mother’s neck, nibbling on Scarlet’s sleeve. “No, Sham. You’re staying here,” she pulls her arm away from him. He snorts at her and paws the ground. Fancy turns and nips his ear, making him yank his head back with a whine.

“Looks like your momma said no too, Shamrock,” Arthur unties Smoke from the post and tosses the reins over his head before climbing in his saddle.

“Sounds like it. Stay, Sham. You’ll be fine. Stay and watch James,” Scarlet tries to reason and the golden chestnut looks at the boy before nickering. “Good boy. I’ll bring you back some hay,” she praises and uses the post to climb on Fancy’s back. “Let’s ride.”

They ride in silence, each enjoying the sounds of nature. Their horses thunder along the beaten and worn path, side by side. Scarlet loosely holds to Fancy’s mane, moving in sync with the mare. Arthur adjusts his hat over his eyes, one hand on the reins and his other relaxed and hanging by his side.

They reach Valentine’s stable and she hops off Fancy, greeting the stable hand who leads her inside. Arthur leans forward in his saddle, arms crossed against the horn.

“We had to tie him to the fence to get his shoe back on and we checked the other three. He’s good to go, but he is grumpy. He’s been fed and watered and I took his saddle off last night. It’s in the tack room. Were you wanting to take him with you?” Scarlet pats the stall door the worker points out as Shasta’s and shakes her head at his question.

“No. I’ll take my saddle. If it’s alright I’m gonna leave him stabled for a bit. I’ll come by later this evening to check on him. I’ll probably need to ride him and wind him down for y’all,” she answers and coaxes the upset buckskin to her. He snorts and nips at her hand before nuzzling his face against her chest, blowing air out his nose on her. “Eww, gross. Punk, behave. Don’t you feel better now that you’re not missing a shoe? You be nice to these nice men and behave yourself. No trouble, ya hear?”

He tosses his head as if answering yes to her, head pulled up to stand his full height. He paws the dirt, knocking the bottom of the door with his hoof. Scarlet holds her hand out and he sniffs at it, nibbling until she slips a cube into his mouth. He neighs happily and nuzzles his head against her again, ears forward.

“Good boy. I’ll be back later for you,” she promises and kisses his nose before following the stable owner to get her saddle. He pulls it off the post and hands it to her upon her request.

“Do you have your horse here? We can get them in here so it’s easier,” he offers but Scarlet brushes it off.

“No thank you. She’s just outside with a friend. I’d rather not get her riled up just yet. I have a long journey ahead of me. We’re riding to Annesburg,” she says as she adjusts the weight of the saddle to get a better hold on it. She’s not sure if it’s a complete lie, but she doesn’t know which direction north of Valentine the horses were. The males whistle.

“That is quite a ride. Why not take the train? Or even the stagecoach?”

“Ahh, I’ve got several stops to make along the way. Easier for me to ride my horse than have to get off and wait for the next train. Plus it’s free,” she chuckles at their reactions. “Thank you again. He should be good until I get back. If he starts getting antsy and pawing at the ground or his door, just turn him out to the corral and I’ll get him.”

“Umm, you sure about that Miss? People are always looking to steal good horses, especially fast ones.”

“Oh don’t worry. My horses won’t allow anyone but me to ride them,” she grins at them, nodding as they open the doors for her.

She easily saddles Fancy as Arthur makes a trip to the post office. She’s hauling herself up as he comes trotting up to her, letter in hand. She raises a brow but he puts it in his side pouch.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah. You meet up with the guy at the saloon?”

“Yep. Said he’ll lead us to his guys that are trying their hand at breaking them.”

“So despite already failing, they all wanna try again? Great. How many horses?” 

“About seven I think he said. I think they got a whole herd. Think we can break them?”

“Hah! I know I can, can you, Old Man?” She teases and turns Fancy to look at Arthur. He smiles and tips his chin to the saloon.

“Just who do you think broke the horses we use for our wagons?”

“I was thinking John. Maybe Dutch. Lord knows Micah would get thrown so fast. Same with Uncle and Bill,” she snorts in laughter as they walk to the saloon, horses in step.

“Very funny, Miss O’Hara. I didn’t know you were a comedian.”

“Ah well, Mr. Morgan, I’m just full of surprises.” She winks at him as they pull the reins to stop their horses. They wait in the saddles as the man Arthur talked to earlier meets them and climbs onto his Suffolk Punch.

“You two have warmer clothes? It’s known to get cold where we’re going,” the man warns. Arthur nods and pats his saddle bag. They turn to Scarlet who shakes her head no.

“Never went north. Prefer the heat of the south,” she excuses her lack of warmer clothing.

“Well, come on then. Can’t have you freezing on me. The store’s this way. Get you a coat and we’ll get on.” Arthur knocks her leg with his as they follow the man to the store. “I’ll wait out here.”

“Come on, Scarlet. Let’s get you something warm,” Arthur sighs as he slides off Smoke and offers his hand to help her down. They enter the store and Arthur stands off to the side as she browses the catalog, asking about the warmest jacket and pants they have and something else he can’t quite make out. He busies himself at the hat rack, looking over the different sizes and styles. The clerk ushers the pair to the changing spot at the back.

“This is the warmest we have. Wolf lined,” the clerk passes them to her. She thanks him and tries on the coat. It fits a bit big but she likes it so she sets it aside. She stares at Arthur, clearing her throat. He locks eyes with her and they stare at each other for a moment.

“Mr. Morgan,” she prompts, tilting her chin up slightly in gesture for him to step back so she could change pants.

“Oh. Right. Here,” he pulls the curtain closed and stands with his back to the makeshift changing room. He hears her shuffling and the curtain reopen.

“Whatcha think?” He turns to face her at the sound of her voice.

“They look warm. How do they fit?”

“Mm, not too loose. The fur helps. I’m sure they’ll work. It’ll get hot too once we start breaking the horses,” she agrees and runs a hand over the soft fur. “Alright, I’ll change into these when we get close. No need to sweat unnecessarily.” With that, she closes the curtain to change back and he walks back over to the hat rack. Scarlet finds him looking over them all, grinning when he spots her.

“Hey you,” he calls, picking up a black cowboy hat. It resembles his, just missing the strings he has around his.

“What’re you doing? That’s the children’s hats. You thinkin bout gettin one for Jack?”

“No. Not Jack.”

“James?”

He laughs softly and shakes his head.

“No, not James either.”

Scarlet raises a brow in question before he plops the hat on her head, minding her braid. He adjusts it until it’s sitting right and he nods. She scowls for a moment but it’s gone when he turns her to look in the mirror. Her green eyes widen at the sight, almost fully outfitted like a female gunslinger.

“Consider it a welcome to the gang gift,” he shrugs and declines her protests of his payment. The clerk smiles at them, ringing up the total.

“Ah how it must be, to be young and in love. You make a very cute couple,” he comments offhandedly as he hands Arthur his change. Both of them freeze and stare at him, pointing at the other.

“We’re not together! We’re just friends,” they announce, looking at each other with curiosity at their unison.

“If you say so,” the clerk shrugs, picking up a rag to wipe down his counter. “Best of luck where you’re headed.” They leave the shop, both a bit red in the face at the clerk’s blunt assumption.

“Alright, we’re ready. Let’s ride,” Scarlet suggests after she puts her new gear away on the back of her saddle, hat still on her head where Arthur put it.

They follow the rancher, says he goes by Jim, out of Valentine and east for a bit. Smoke and Fancy are both worked up, chomping at the bit for a chance to go faster than a gallop. Scarlet and Arthur share a look, both inwardly groaning that Jim has a Suffolk and not a race breed. They know their horses would leave him without care.

They pass through Emerald Ranch and cut a path more north east, taking a less worn trail. It’s a bit of a ride. When they start climbing into the mountains, Scarlet spots a few people up on a ridge, watching them. She notes by their clothes to be natives. She makes a mental note to ask about a tribe or reservation in the area when they get back.

They stop for a quick food break, the rancher offering some extra bread rolls he had. Arthur and Scarlet each take one, Arthur offering oregano game and Scarlet offering various canned fruits.

When she’s done eating she leads Fancy to a nearby river and lets her drink and wade around to cool off for a few minutes. The mustang paws violently at the water, braying as it splashes her chest and belly. Scarlet laughs at her and joins her, rubbing water down the mare’s legs. She nickers and leans down for another drink.

“She doing a’right?” Arthur’s got Smoke’s reins in hand and Jim isn’t far behind. Scarlet looks up to them and nods, patting her neck.

“Yeah, just figured she could use some water and cool down time before we head out. It’s only gonna get hotter from the looks of it. Doesn’t feel like rain this afternoon, maybe tonight but not soon,” she hums and scoops water into her hand, running it along Fancy’s stomach.

“It isn’t too much farther. We’re passed the Wapiti Reservation and in the mountains. There’s some inclines here and there but otherwise it’s pretty straight forward from here,” Jim announces, reaching the river with his horse in tow. “With any luck You two can break these guys enough for my men to ride a few back and have the others on leads.”

“Yeah, hopefully. Just when they’re broke, make sure you let others ride them. You don’t want them getting used to just one person on them unless they’re going to be for personal use. If you don’t, and you try to let someone else ride them when they’ve only known you and your weight, the horse will buck them off,” she advises and rubs water on Fancy‘s nose. Arthur rubs Smoke down with water too as he drinks.

“I take that’s from personal experience?”

“Kind of. My Ma broke this one's son,” she pats Fancy, “and since we’re about the same build I could ride him. When my cousin tried, he was thrown cause we were the only ones who bothered to ride and spend time with him. He even threw my uncle, despite knowing him well enough.”

“I like to think that a horse knows if you really care about it or not,” Arthur says, back in the saddle. Smoke walks around the water, pawing at it every now and then. Fancy looks at them and nickers, nudging Scarlet.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go then,” she mutters and pulls herself into her saddle. “Ready when you are, Jim.”

“This way.” They turn their horses and head back on the trail.

Jim was right, it wasn’t much farther. The mountains level off where they are and opens into a spacious clearing. A tall corral stands with several men surrounding it. Some on horseback, the rest on the top fence post. As they approach, Arthur and Scarlet can hear the whinnies and shrieks of the horses in the pen.

“Is this the man who thinks he’s gonna be able to break your horses, Jim?” A snide comment from one of the men. Scarlet side eyes him as she trots passed, letting Fancy circle around the pen. She slips off her mustang and starts undoing her saddle, letting it drop on the outside of the fence.

“Let her in there. She’ll calm them down and then we can get started,” Scarlet instructs as she moves the saddle. Fancy puts her head between the wooden posts and sniffs at the closest horse. He startles slightly but doesn’t back away from the mare. He tosses his head and neighs at her. She nickers back and swishes her tail.

“You sure it’s wise to open the gate?”

“You want these horses broken or not? The easiest way is letting my mare go in there, settle ‘em down, an then have myself a my partner here go in an break’em,” she snaps and turns to glare at the same man who had made the rude comment about Arthur. She turns back to Jim and raises a brow, arms crossed and brow raised in challenge.

“What are you waiting for? You heard the lady! Open the gate!” He hollers at his men who stumble over themselves to get the gate open and form a line on either side of the opening as a makeshift corral in case any horses escape.

Fancy snorts and flattens her ears as a couple men take a step too close to her, reeling back when they take notice of her, and she trots in on her own accord. They close the gate behind her and watch in awe as she -more or less- prances up to the rebellious stallion, leader of the herd. He goes to rear but she beats him to it and uses her forelegs to kick him. He startles and drops back down, backing up to the fence as she approaches again. He bows his head to her this time, nickering and bobbing his head submissively. Smoke stands behind the stallion, just on the other side of the fence, watching the scene with perked ears. He lets out a snort and moves to see Arthur.

“Did she just-”

“Essentially, she just told him “I’m boss, you listen to me or get your ass beat”. She’s good at what she does,” Scarlet offers at the questioning looks and murmurs of astonishment.

“Well, I’ll be- She might be old but she’s still got fire, ain’t she?” Arthur whistles low at the sight. The stallion stands nearly two hands taller than Fancy but he had submit without much of a fight. Scarlet just smiles and nods as she clambers up onto the top fence post to sit.

“Yeah. I don’t think she was ever fully broke, just bonded, yanno? But she’s loyal as they come an she’s fast too. Even as a broody mare,” she laughs. She surveys the pen, counting eight horses; Fancy included. “Alright. There’s seven horses that need breakin. Arthur, you want three or four?”

“Don’t much matter to me. If one is hard to break we can both have a go at it. Or whoever isn’t as worn out,” Arthur suggests as he joins her at the fence, though he leans on his arms on the top frame. Smoke nudges his owner and is rewarded with nose rubs.

“That will work too I guess. Ok. Mr. Jim, I need you and your men to help us separate these horses. The corral y’all have here is big enough to section them in small fenced areas and leave a wide enough range to still break one or two on one end,” Scarlet motions to the end where Fancy is herding them from. The mare tosses her head and begins a trot that the others closely follow, the old leader behind her. Jim barks orders to his men, telling them that they are to mind anything she and Arthur tell them as far as the horses and corral go.

“Let’s see if Fancy will still do this,” she mutters to herself, taking a deep breath. She lets it out in a whistle that jumps in pitch halfway through as she moves her tongue. Fancy’s ears, along with the herd’s, shoot up. The bay mustang snorts and breaks into a gallop, bringing the horses back closer to them. When some of the others notice how close they’re getting, they start to buck, but with one warning bray from Fancy, they are back to galloping in a makeshift formation with her around the corral. Scarlet lets out a small huff of laughter, hand slapping down on Arthur’s shoulder. He glances up at her, hauling himself up onto the beam once she lets go of his shoulder.

“What was that you just did?”

“What? The whistle? That was somethin my Ma taught me. Said she used to have Fancy herd all her ma’s horses an she’d use that whistle. There’s a few different whistles she responds to. So long as they come from me, she’ll listen,” she explains.

“Like what?”

“Well, for instance, this one,” she demonstrates three short whistles of the same pitch and Fancy puts a little distance between herself and the rest of the herd before rearing and breaking into a run for the other end of the pen, just to spin last minute and race back to the herd. “That was sorta like a ‘hey go scout and come back’ kinda call. I’ve used it several times in bounties.”

“Any others she might remember?”

“Yeah, but one more. Can’t teach you all my secrets, Morgan,” she winks and whistles similarly to the first; normal, then higher pitch, then normal again. “That means come here if you can hear me,” she chuckles as Fancy gallops over, tail and head held high as she skids to a stop in front of Scarlet. The woman laughs and offers her a bit of hay she pulls from her pocket.

“Well, alright then. Let’s get these horses separated so we can get this done,” Arthur hops down into the pen with Scarlet at his side. The dark bay mare moves away and towards the herd who cluster behind her. She nickers and snorts at them, slowly separating them on her own. “She’s a bright one, huh? She really understands us doesn’t she?”

The ranch hands all help herd the horses into small sections, using posts to block them at one end of the corral. Fancy blocks the entrance to the space for two from the herd, a faux fence around the others,

“Acourse. She’s been with me for years. She’s known me since she was at least ten,” Scarlet holds up her hands and slowly approaches one of the remaining horses. Arthur does the same to the other, walking slow and speaking words of encouragement and praise.

“Easy girl, that’s good.”

“Yeah girl, no need to spook. There’s a good girl.”

“Atta girl. So good.”

“That’s it, easy.”

The horses nicker and prance around the two humans for a minute before settling enough to allow them to pat them. Arthur looks over the back of the mare he’s with, meeting Scarlet’s eye for a split second before her horse moves and the woman is blocked by the dapple grey mare. He pats the horse once more before he hauls himself onto her back, mane gripped tight in his hand. In his peripheral he sees Scarlet has mounted her mare as well.

There’s a rush of adrenaline through him as he calls for his mare to calm down. He can vaguely make out Scarlet saying something similar. “Whoah!” He hollers as he almost slips off his dapple grey. He quickly adjusts himself and continues to calm the horse.

Scarlet is faring just as well. She’s got a good grip on the mare’s mane, moving with her, spouting praises and soothing her. She grunts as the dapple grey throws her forward. She quickly recovers, adjusting herself farther back so she doesn’t fall if the mare throws her forward again. She lets out a laugh as the horse grunts under her, snorting at the unusual weight on her back.

Soon, the two mares are prancing sideways and nickering at each other as they test their ability to trot, gallop, and walk with the added weight. Scarlet steers her horse towards the gate, telling the males there to wait to open it until they have leads on the first two. She waits until there’s a rope halter on the one she’s on before slipping off and meeting Arthur in the middle of the pen.

“Two down, five to go. You ready?” She asks, breathing a tad heavier. He grins and nods, bending down to pick up his hat. He wipes the dust off and sets it on his head. She laughs, but it’s cut short as she tries to steady her heartbeat.

“O’course. You sound a bit winded though, you good?”

“Yeah. Gettin thrown into a horse vertebrae isn’t as fun as it sounds,” she jokes and nudges him. He shakes his head good naturedly and nods to the two new horses Fancy’s let out.

“Ready for round two?”

Scarlet’s face splits in a grin as she turns his innocent question into an innuendo. He glances at her, curious about her wide smile.

“Yeah, if you’ve got the stamina to match,” she shoots back, stopping and turning to look at him as he stumbles as her words sink in. She barks out a laugh as red creeps into his cheeks. He rubs the back of his neck and he points to the horses.

“Christ, Woman, I was talkin bout horse breakin.”

“So was I.” Her statement sounds more like a question to him. He groans quietly and motions for her to go first. She tips her hat covered head and they repeat the process for approaching the horses.

The next four horses are a little easier as they all have similar bucking patterns. Arthur and Scarlet learn quickly and find the fastest way to break them and get them calm before putting halters on them. When they’re down to the last three, Scarlet sends Fancy out and asks for one of the men to saddle her back up for her. The mustang takes up spot by Smoke; he sniffs curiously at the new horses’ scents on the mare.

They’re just bringing the last of the dual-breaking to the gate when they hear wood splintering. Scarlet turns and her green eyes widen. Arthur’s off the horse a split second behind her, yelling at the ranch hands to get out of the way. Two ranchers grab the most recently broken horses, a young colt and filly, as the stallion jumps the now broken fence. Both gunslingers whistle for their horses.

They’re in their saddles in record time, Fancy already starting to gallop while Scarlet swings up into the seat. She loosens Fancy’s reins and gives her her head as she kicks her sides, quickly transitioning to post with the running stride. Arthur is hot on her heels with Smoke as they chase the blood red stallion through the trees. Fancy snorts and almost yanks the reins from Scarlet’s hand in earnest.

“Whoah girl. Lemme untie them, then you can have your headway,” she soothes and busies herself with undoing the knot in the reins and tying it to her saddle, slack hanging loosely. “Alright, there. Hyah!”

The mustang whinnies and surges forward, leaving Arthur and his dark thoroughbred behind. He yells after her as Smoke pushes himself to go faster too. Fancy navigates her way through the trees, minding her rider when she jumps over knarled roots. They catch up to the stallion, who’s ran himself to a cliff edge, backed against the cliff behind him; he rears and kicks his front legs out as he realizes he’s ran himself into a corner.

Smoke and Arthur appear a few moments later, blocking the little escape the blood coated stud might have been able to slip through. The riders share a glance and slip from their saddles, letting their horses go block the path. The stallion snorts as they both walk slowly closer, his gaze trained on Arthur before switching to Scarlet. He paws at the ground before throwing his weight onto his front legs and kicking. They stop and wait for him to settle down again, murmuring soothingly to him as they approach.

It takes a solid ten minutes before they can pat him, but when they are able, they don’t immediately try to break him. Instead, they pet him and talk to him until he’s not anxiously prancing in place. Arthur steps away to make a rope halter as Scarlet rubs down the horse's forehead. He bobs his head before nudging her and sniffing at her pants. He nibbles at the pockets and she laughs, causing him to snatch his head back, ears half turned back.

“Shh, easy, Boy. Here. Look,” she slowly reaches into her pocket and pulls out what’s left of the hay. His ears flick forward as he sniffs at it when she raises it close to his face. He nibbles at it before taking it from her hand, leaving foamy saliva in place. She fake gags and wipes her hand on her pants, laughing again. “Gross....Atta boy. Good horse.”

“Here. Let’s see if we can slip this on him. Then we’ll try to break him.”

“Think he’ll be an easy break, Arthur?”

“Maybe. Hopefully. He’s calm ‘round us now so we can only hope,” he answers and passes her the makeshift halter. Together they manage to slip it on and into place, a lot of coaxing and reassurance being whispered to the stallion.

“I think you should break him,” Scarlet says after a moment. Her nose is scrunched as her eyes roam over the wild horse. Arthur shifts his weight to his left leg, popping his right out a little, and rests his hands on his belt, thumbs slipping between the belt and his pants.

“Why’s that?”

“He’s too tall for me to jump on. I don’t wanna startle him and I’d rather not climb on Fancy to climb on him,” she sighs softly as she pats his neck. “Such a pretty boy. Yeah, you are.” He nickers softly in response.

“Here,” Arthur’s on her in a flash, arm wrapped under her thighs as he hauls her off her feet and onto his shoulder in a seated position. She lets out a squeal as she feels her feet leave the ground. The trio of horses look at her as though she’s crazy before snorting at them. “Climb on now. I’ve got him.” And he does. He’s holding the rope halter in his hand so the horse won’t move. Scarlet glances down at him, but his hat is covering his face so she can’t see his eyes nor read the expression in them.

She shifts slightly on his shoulder and grabs the stallion’s mane, pulling herself onto his back. Arthur meets her eyes then, a silent question to make sure he can let go; She nods and he lets his grip loosen on the halter and fall away. He backs up as the stud rears at the added weight. Scarlet holds tight to his mane and squeezes her thighs against him until he’s back on all fours. He bounces on his back legs a few times, as though he’s going to rear again, but doesn’t. Instead, he kicks out his legs and bucks to the left. Scarlet shifts herself and holds steady until he starts going right. She moves with him, her body syncing with his wild antics. It’s faster than the other three she’s broken today, that much she knows. He kicks once more and settles, shaking his head and pawing the ground, his hoof scraping against the rock under foot making a clicking sound.

“Good boy!” She praises and pats his neck. He turns his head to look at her and snorts. Arthur steps back up to them and ties a piece of rope on the halter to use as reins. Once it’s secured to both sides, Arthur slips it over his neck and hands it to Scarlet.

“See there? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” His question is for Scarlet, but the stallion whinnies and shakes his mane out in reply. They laugh at him and shake their heads.

“Guess he’s a mind reader. Honestly I think this was the easiest break I’ve ever done,” she admits and tests out the reins. She has the stallion walk, turn, trot, slow down, and stop before she turns to Arthur. “I think we’re ready to head back. You think we should tie him to our horses?”

“No, I think you should ride him back. Keep him from spooking and I’ll follow on Smoke with Fancy. Keep an eye out for you,” he suggests and whistles for their horses. Both respond and walk up to them, Fancy greeting the now broke stallion. He nudges her back and lowers his head to her as she nips at his mane.

“Keep an eye out for me or on me?” She taunts playfully, locking eyes with Arthur. He chooses not to answer and mounts up instead.

“Come on, this way,” he says, clicking his tongue to signal his horse to go. She beams at his silence, giggling quietly at the realization that she might have made him uncomfortable.

They ride back the way they came in a content silence, Fancy trailing behind her as she rides behind Smoke as they look for the trail. She urges the stallion to keep pace with the dark thoroughbred and rests the reins where his neck and back meet. She knocks knees with Arthur and tips her hat back on her head.

“This was fun. We should do this more often.”

“What? Chase horses that break free from pens?”

Scarlet laughs at that. She shakes her head and uses her foot to hook the back of his leg, letting it go soon after. He finally looks at her, tilting his head in question.

“Nah. I meant this,” she gestures around them and then themselves. “Ridin together. We make a good team.”

“Hmm.” He turns his eyes back to the nonexistent path their horses pave, thinking. He nods in agreement. “Yeah. I guess we do. I’m sure Dutch will send you on jobs with me and some of the others too. We’re not just the Van der Linde gang, we’re a family,” he explains as they merge back onto a trail they come upon. They ride the rest of the way back in silence, hearing the whoops and hollers from the ranchers and hands as they near.

“Well I’ll be damned!” Jim greets them as they pull to a stop near the busted corral. He whistles low at the sight of Scarlet on the horse. He nods and digs in his pocket for the owed money. “Here, the money promised for breaking these guys. And for the trouble, why don’t you keep that one you’re riding there? Your mustang is up there in age ain’t she?”

“Yeah. Fancy’s my old girl. She gets me where I need to go, fast if we need to too,” she replies, leaning over and scratching behind the mare’s ear as she stands on her left. “Don’t you girl? Such a sweet old thing.”

“You sure? He’s broke now,” Arthur accepts the money but questions the offer for the horse. Jim just nods and waves him off. He shrugs and tips his hat to the man. “Well then, Miss O’Hara, you ready to head back to Valentine?”

“I guess so. Jim, sir, you have a good day. Take care of them horses now. They weren't easy to break,” she chides playfully as she turns toward Arthur. “Ready when you are, Cowboy.” Arthur rolls his eyes but smiles small anyway, spurring on his horse. The stallion perks his ears with a raised head as Fancy takes off after Smoke and he prances. “Well, we’ll be seeing you. Y’all have a good rest of your day,” she calls as she gives their new horse a light kick. He neighs and gallops to catch up to the other two. He only settles when Fancy allows him to pass and he’s riding side by side with Smoke.

“Seems like he’s taken a liking to us,” Arthur points out, once out of sight of the rancher’s camp. Scarlet nods and hums as she lets Arthur lead them back to the small, developing town of Valentine.

“Seems that way, don’t it?” She acknowledges as Arthur reaches over and pats the red stallion as they continue on.

By the time they make it back to Valentine, the sun’s setting. Scarlet yawns and turns into the town, headed for the stables. Arthur raises a brow and turns Smoke to follow her.

“Where ya goin?” He asks as she slows the stud to a walk as they approach the stables. The owner gets up from his seat and waves as she stops and dismounts.

“Gotta at least check on Shasta,” she mumbles and hitches the thoroughbred. He snorts and pulls at the tied reins until Arthur has Smoke stand beside him, Fancy joins on his other side to help settle him. Arthur joins Scarlet in the stables.

Shasta’s biting the stall door, ears pinned back until he smells his owner. He whinnies happily and tries to rear in the small stall. When he can’t, he huffs and presses as close to the door as he can, head reaching for Scarlet. Once she’s close enough for him to reach, he bites on her shirt and pulls her to him, nickering and braying softly as he nuzzles his chin against her back. She pats his neck, petting what she can reach until he lifts his head so she can move.

“Why you actin up? Huh? Why you chewin this nice man’s stall door?” She asks and ruffles the part of his mane that’s between his ears and fallen into his eyes. He blinks as she brushes it with her fingers, pulling it away from his eyes so he can see. “I thought I told you to behave.”

“He actually wasn’t any trouble, Ma’am. He just started that before you rode up. We took him out earlier and let him run the corral with some of the others. He even took to the salt lick we had out there,” the owner answers the questions for the Buckskin. Aforementioned horse pulls his lips back and whinnies at her, bouncing his head like he’s laughing.

“Yeah, is that so? You think this is funny, Boy? Makin me think you’re misbehavin?” She teases and scratches his neck. He leans into her touch, shifting on his feet. “If it’s ok I think I’ll leave him here again. I’ll probably bring one of my others too. I have four now and can’t ride them all at once,” she turns to the stable owner who nods and smiles at her.

“Always happy to help. He’s actually been helping with the other timid horses. I was afraid he was gonna fight the Dutch Warmblood we have but he didn’t. So that was good.”

“That right? Well, I’ve got some oats supposed to be comin in at the store in the next couple days or so. I can drop a bag off as payment for this door if you’d like,” she offers in apology. They shake on it and she leaves with Arthur, Shasta earning another night at the stables.

She scratches Smoke’s neck as she passes around his front and unties the new horse, tossing the rope over his head. He stumbles back, spooked at the suddenness. Fancy and Smoke move with him, boxing him between them until he allows Scarlet to get ahold of his halter.

“Such good horses,” she praises the trio, pushing on Fancy’s nose to get her to back up. She does as wanted, pulling her head back to glance behind her. Arthur pulls Smoke a little away and saddles up. He extends his arm down to Scarlet to help her onto the stallion. She takes it and between Arthur pulling her up and using her grip on the stallion’s mane she manages to clamber onto his back again. Arthur chuckles at the scene of her readjusting herself on the horse’s back, causing her to look up to him. “Something funny, Arthur?”

“Yeah. I think you like horses that are too tall for you,” he walks Smoke around her and pulls on the stallion’s halter. “Come on, let’s get back to camp and let Dutch know we got the money.”

“How much money y’all need exactly? To leave all this behind and such?” she asks once they cross the train tracks heading out of Valentine. Arthur sighs as he tries to figure that out himself.

“Honest? I’m not sure how much Dutch has set aside, so as far as right now I can’t say. I dunno how much it would cost to move us all either, wherever he even has planned, but I’m gon’ say it’ll be a lot,” he finally answers, keeping their pace at a fast walk. Fancy makes a habit of being on one side of Arthur and then rounding to Scarlet, as though keeping lookout.

They ride the rest of the short way in silence, Scarlet leaning back to look at the stars starting to come out. She lets go of the reins, trusting Fancy and Smoke to keep the stallion calm as she rests her palms on his haunches to lean back on them. He flicks his ears back to her at the weight shift on his back, but continues at their pace. Arthur side eyes her, reaching out to the new stallion to scratch behind his ear, taking in how peaceful and content she looks; the night casting shadows across her skin that the stars and moon banish with their light. He swallows thickly and shakes his head, eyes back on the path ahead as they turn under the crossed trees that mark the main entrance to the camp. Once the trio of horses are hitched, and Shamrock given his earlier bribe of hay, the duo make their way to Dutch’s tent.

He’s sitting on his bed, book in hand, muttering to himself. Arthur clears his throat and greets him, a small smile on his face. Dutch glances up and gets to his feet, meeting them. He gestures to the campfire and they follow obediently, all taking a seat. Arthur and Scarlet sit on the log while Dutch takes a seat on the box to their right. He rests his elbows on his knees, leaning forward.

“I was worried you two ran into trouble. You get them horses broke?”

“Acourse we did; have some faith in us, Dutch. There was seven of them to deal with and it was a long ride out there and back,” Arthur playfully jabs back at Dutch as he leans back on the fur covered log. “We got a little something out of it too. Pretty decent pay just to break some horses. Two hundred each and another surprise.”

Dutch nods and runs a hand down his face, eyes flickering to Scarlet. She reaches for the coffee mug by the fire and smiles upon feeling how full it is. She busies herself with getting her cup and pouring some in it before she quietly and carefully opens Arthur’s pouch and removes his cup. She fills his too and Dutch barks out a laugh. Hosea, John, and Javier join them, hearing Dutch’s laughter.

“Well despite that, you just got robbed, Arthur my boy,” he claps his hands down on his knees as Arthur gives him a confused look. Dutch just nods to Scarlet, who is holding up his cup in offering when he turns to her. His eyes widen as he sees two cups in her hands, her own and his. He mutters a thanks and takes the cup, basking in the warmth that seeps into his hands from it.

“How the hell did you get into my pouch without me feeling it?” He inquires curiously, taking a drink of the bitter liquid. She shrugs and lowers her cup, waggling her left hand at them.

“I’m pretty good with my hands,” she shrugs and winks at Arthur, getting another laugh from Dutch, the others snort in laughter as well. “Quiet too. Have to be when there’s a crowd,” she adds before taking another drink of the liquid energy. Arthur feels warmth spread across his cheeks and is glad that night’s fallen.

“Oh I like her, I really do. Don’t take this the wrong way now, Miss O’Hara, but I’m glad that we nearly collided when those O’Driscoll scum were chasing you,” Dutch proclaims, handing over his own cup when she prompts him. She fills his mug and passes it back as she listens.

“Well, thanks for the reminder that I nearly ran over the infamous Dutch. Please, humiliate me some more,” she sasses as she sets the half empty tin back down by the fire after offering it to the others who decline. “But always happy to be of service and pleasure.”

“Mama?” James calls as Abigail herds both boys towards them. Scarlet is off her seat in a moment, arms open for her son as he dashes away from Abigail. He hugs her tight and mumbles, something she can’t quite make out, into her shirt. She strokes his head, brushing his hair back as she leads him back over to her seat. He sits in front of her, between her legs as he recounts his day with Jack and Abigail.

“Thank you, Abigail. I didn’t think we’d be gone all day. I preshade [appreciate it], ya lookin’ after ‘im,” she thanks the only other mother in the gang. Abigail waves her off and gives her a look that says ‘let’s talk later’. Scarlet nods and leans against Arthur slightly, nudging him. “Wanna tell’em how you laughed at me fer ridin’ horses too big?” She taunts; James laughs, remembering his father having said something similar to the two of them the last time they went to visit him.

The rest of the gang trickle over to hear the story of how Arthur and Scarlet broke the horses. About how the stud they have hitched on the other side of camp broke the fencing and ran off; about their mini adventure on calming, catching, and breaking him. Scarlet notes that he’s leaving out details, like their banter and when he picked her up to help her onto the stallion, but she doesn’t point it out.

John and Bill make comments and jokes about Arthur needing help being re-broke, asking Scarlet if she thinks she can do it. Thankfully Abigail and Scarlet sent Jack and James off to bed by the time those kinds of questions start slipping out. Everyone waits for the answer as she and Arthur look at each other a moment.

“Ahh, I dunno. He’s kinda old,” she jabs, knocking her shoulder into his. “Kinda gruff and scruffy too.” He grins at that, shaking his head, thinking of a good comeback.

“Nah. She’s too green. Don’t know how to handle a real unruly and wild stud,” he replies, stretching his legs out in front of him. Everyone, including the duo in question, bust out in laughter at the responses.

Not too long after their story is retold do they bid goodnight to the gang, each headed to their respective wagons. Arthur grabs Scarlet’s upper arm as she passes, making her stumble back a couple steps. She glances at her arm where his hand is and then to his face.

“Arthur?” She asks, concern lacing her tone as she steps closer to him. He clears his throat as he lets her arm go, his hand holding onto her wrist light enough she could pull away if she wants. He nods, a gesture more to himself than her. She waits patiently.

“I just want you to know that you can come to me if you need help. Okay? With anythin. Just let me know. An, uhh, well thanks for bein there today. I don’t think I coulda done that by myself and still gotten back here before now without you an Fancy,” he supplies for his momentary silence. She nods and rolls her shoulders, shrugging as she goes to turn back to her wagon. “Hey, I mean it. Anythin. Any time. If I’m sleepin, wake me. Promise I won’t be mad.”

“Thank you, Arthur. You’re sweet. You really are a good man. Albeit one who’s done bad things, but haven’t we all?” She smiles at him, though he notes it’s a sad smile and it doesn’t reach her eyes. He goes to say something else but she cuts him off. “I’d ride with you again, if you ever ask. Just let me know and I’ll go.” She pauses and twists her hand in his hold, rubbing his forearm for a moment. “Goodnight, Arthur.” She squeezes his arm before letting him go as she turns back to her carriage, grabbing an extra blanket and cuddling with her son.

“Good night, Scarlet.”


	4. Operation O'Driscoll, Kieran; Mission Saving Sean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some slight changes to the Kieran and Sean missions here. Scarlet's got a soft spot for her fellow Irishman. Dancing cuteness. Jealous Arthur? Hmmm... Cute Little Jack!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of my favorite chapters, if only for little Jack! He’s so precious and I love writing the four year old!
> 
> Warnings specific to this chapter: Cursing, typical gang violence, lots of drinking (mainly by Sean), sexual references/innuendos, jealous people
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> My work is not to be posted elsewhere; I have posted this to my tumblr @marvel-redemption-omega
> 
> Word Count: 5,909

“Whatcha got there, Jack?”

“A toy Aunt Scarlet got for me.”

“She did? Well that was sweet of her. When did she get that? Did you thank her?”

“She got it a couple weeks ago, when she and Uncle Arthur got that new horse. I said thank you,” Jack replies, pausing in pushing the wooden train through the mud. He smiles brightly up at his mother. She motions for him to get up and he does so.

“Good boy. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. We are going to help Mr. Pearson make lunch,” Abigail ushers her son over to the wash bin. Since the duo returned, Abigail took notice of the time they spent together. When Arthur went out, be it to hunt or otherwise, Scarlet went. She wasn’t sure if he asked her to ride or if Scarlet asked if she could, but whatever the case, she was glad that Scarlet seemed to be making Arthur happy. It was nice to see him smile again, and he’d done more smiling in the past couple months, since she’d been there, than Abigail's seen in a long time.

“James?” Scarlet calls as she walks back into camp from dropping a hay bale by the trees behind Pearson’s wagon for the horses. She dusts the stray hay from her front and pauses at the wash bin, smiling as Abigail and Jack approach.“Hey, Little Jack, Abigail.”

“You didn’t tell me you got Jack a toy,” Abigail’s tone is curious, warmth in her voice. Scarlet rubs the back of her neck sheepishly and nervously chuckles

“I guess it slipped my mind. I was at the store anyway to get the tailored clothes for him and saw it and couldn’t help myself,” she admits, hands moving to rest in her back pockets. Abigail nods and lifts Jack so he can wash the mud from his arms.

“Well thank you. It’s not everyday someone else gets him something, and it’s not often we can get him stuff either,” she replies as she sets her son back on his feet. Jack smiles up at Scarlet, showing her his clean toy before Abigail herds him to the front of the wagon.

Scarlet chuckles and shakes her head as she heads over to the barrel to splash water on her face. Arthur drops off a sack of provisions when they hear a whimper. They both turn to the sound, looking at Kieran, the O’Driscoll Arthur caught from up in the mountains. He told her that story one night around the campfire, along with how he and Javier had to go save John, again apparently.

“C’mon, Mister. I ain’t washed in weeks. Please! Talk to them….to Dutch!” He pleads, eyes shifting from Arthur then to Scarlet in hopes of getting her help. They share a glance and step closer to him.

“Why don’t you start talkin, O’Driscoll?” Scarlet huffs out, arms crossing over her chest as she looks at him. Arthur joins her, adding his own verbal assault.

“Whoah, hold your horses! It seems the cat has our friend here’s tongue. I was thinkin Mister Williamson could have a word,” Dutch claps his hands as he strolls over, dressed up in is black pants, red vest, and black longcoat.. Scarlet steps back and closer to Arthur’s side to give them some room.

“What do you want from me?!” Kieran all but cries, shaking against the tree.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know!”

“What do you want me to do, Dutch?” Dutch’s eye twitches at Bill’s question.

“Hurt him!” He barks, gesturing to the tied man.

“Hey, Dutch, why don’t we geld him? If he doesn't wanna talk, make him, right?” Scarlet pipes up, locking eyes for a split second with the leader before dropping her gaze. Dutch grins wickedly, nodding to Bill.

“I like that. Geld him!”

Bill’s eyes seem to shine at the mention of this kind of torture and he quickly runs off to get the gelding shears from the fire. Dutch turns to the other three, nodding as Kieran’s voice cracks as he cries protests. Scarlet glares hard at the tied up O’Driscoll, a bit upset Dutch won’t let her do anything to hurt him. Ok, his exact words were ‘not yet, patience’, but still. She watches as Dutch and Arthur yank down the poor bastard’s pants and underwear, leaving his lower half bare.

“Now, you’re gonna talk. The question is, before or after this boys are gone,” Dutch chuckles darkly.

“Please no! God, why!”

“Oh hush, Boy! They’re just balls!” Dutch sneers. Bill is nearly skipping as he comes back over with the red-tipped shears, hot from the fire. He crouches and snips them open and closed a few times in front of Kieran, leaning forward a little but not quite enough to actually cut him, but still too close for comfort.

“Okay! I know where Colm is! He’s-he’s at Six Point Cabin! Just up behind Valentine! I-I-I can take you there!” Kieran cries, shaking and sobbing, back slumped against the tree.

“I got this, Dutch. Let’s go,” Arthur takes charge, shoving Kieran toward the horses after cutting him loose. Scarlet looks at Dutch, a silent question if she was allowed to go. He tips his chin to her and she waves as she dashes to her horse, Arthur and the others already in the treeline.

“Arthur!” She calls as she kicks her horse. The blood bay nickers and happily runs to catch up with Smoke, slowing to match his trot as they reach them. “I’m comin too.”

“Why don’t you stay back? We don’t need no woman gettin in our way,” Bill grumbles from Brown Jack. She shoots him a glare as she focuses back on Arthur.

“He’s got a point. There might be a lot of O’Driscolls here, and Colm. You ready for that?” He addresses, turning in his saddle to look at her. She chews her lower lip and nods.

“You act like I didn’t kill seven men by mys-”

“And that was you protecting your son, not men,” John calls back from his place at the front of the diamond formation they’re making. She rolls her eyes.

“You are my men, dumbass. I’m a part of the gang too, s’only fair I help where I can. I’m a decent shot, bow or gun. My parents made sure of that. Look, Dutch said I could come along,” she crossly spits out at John’s comment. Arthur nods at her words; he knows she’s right.

“Alright, fine. But if I tell you to move, you move. If I say to get back to the horses-”

“I go back to the horses. Got it,” she finishes for him. Arthur raises a brow at her, for cutting him off she assumes, and reaches over to smack her hat down over her eyes. Bill scowls at what he considers her blatant lack of respect.

“How dare you disrespect Arthur. He’s the lead in this mission,” he raves and tries to move up in the formation to be beside her and her horse. Her thoroughbred snorts, flattens his ears, and turns to nip at Brown Jack as he does so, forcing him to drop back again.

“No disrespect, he surely knew that. I won’t disrespect a man,” she declares, though she knows she’s done so on occasion, but Bill doesn’t need to know that she reasons with herself.

“You’re disrespectin me!” He hollers.

“You’re not a man. Just cause you’re male and an adult doesn’t mean you’re a man. Men, real men, know how to treat women. No one belongs to you; you don’t own anyone. I am my own person and I am free to do as I please, with whom I please, whenever I please, where I please,” she growls back to him, face hard as she fixes her hat.

“See those hills? Head for ‘em,” Kieran points to the hills ahead.

“Save your horses, Boys, we got a climb ahead of us,” John says over his shoulder. He glances back and sighs. “And Lady.”

“I ain’t a lady, far from it,” Scarlet mutters just loud enough for Arthur to hear. He scoffs and nods a yes to that, knowing full well she can take care of herself better than most ‘ladies’. They leave their horses in a clearing and walk to the top of the hill, surveying the cabin. Scarlet pulls out her binoculars and shakes her head at the number of them. She puts them away and turns to Arthur as John and Bill point out the trio of O’Driscolls coming back. John grabs Kieran and holds a gun to him, hand covering his mouth. The poor man keeps his hands raised in surrender as Scarlet and Bill look to Arthur for their next move.

“Scarlet, go take that one out. We’ll follow and take out the next two,” Arthur orders, pointing to the man relieving himself on a tree. Scarlet tosses one of her tomahawks and catches it before sneaking down the hill and using tree trunks as cover until she’s close enough to throw it at the guy.The force of her throw makes the tomahawk stick into the tree, pinning the now dead O’Driscoll to it. She goes to retrieve it as she sees the other three move up, John saying something about leaving Kieran at the top of the hill. She watches Arthur and Bill take out the next two, with throwing knives and tomahawks. They move up and Arthur sends John to deal with the guy on the log in front of them.

“What now, Arthur?” She asks, peering over the log to try and see how many are left. He gets similar questions from Bill and John.

“Just wait. I’m gonna go scope out the other side of the camp,” he shushes them and moves around, back into the trees to their right. The trio watch as he takes out two with his bow before someone yells. They all switch to their guns and move to better positions, firing at the O’Driscolls.

Scarlet separates from John and Bill and tries to make her way over to Arthur. She takes out a guy trying to sneak up behind him. He turns at the cry of pain from behind him, and gives her a quick, thankful nod. More O’Driscolls come out of the trees and the four are forced to back away from the cabin to drive them back. The last few start running but Scarlet pops two off with her revolver, aiming for the third. She hears Arthur telling Bill he’s checking the cabin and she fires at the last runner. He falls and she smirks, blowing the smoke from the end of her gun and opening it to drop the bullet casings, reloading it.

She whips around at the sound of Arthur’s yell, runnin back around to the front of the cabin. Her mind takes a split second to process the scene and she’s aiming her gun. A shot rings out and she stares at Kieran, eyes a little wide at the man. Arthur shoves the dead man off him and enters the cabin, gun up. He comes out seething, pointing his gun at Kieran.

“You set us up!” He roars, walking quickly towards the man. Bill and John block Kieran’s path as they walk up like two brick walls behind him, Arthur backing the scared man up almost into the other two.

“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t! He was here!” Kieran holsters the pistol he’s grabbed and backs up. Bill and John watch the scene play out; Scarlet crosses her arms after shoving her revolver into her thigh holster, scanning the camp. She shakes her head, catching the end of their conversation. “...there’s always money in the chimney.”

“Tell Dutch that old Kieran ain’t got a need to be shot, yet,” he calls as Bill, John, and Kieran head to the horses. She whistles and Fancy and Smoke round the cabin, both braying softly to her. She instructs them to wait and follows Arthur inside. He’s got his hand up the chimney and she smirks.

“Shouldn’t be that hard to find,” she teases and looks over the mess. Her nose scrunches as the smell of alcohol hits her full force. She sticks her tongue out and walks to the table with cards tossed about. “Hey, there’s five money clips here,” she picks them up, counting the exact amount.

“Bring that too. Loot anything you can, the others should have gotten the bodies and then we’ll get out of here before the law comes,” he says, waving to the cabin with his hand not buried in the chimney. She chuckles at him and nods, searching for anything and everything. He joins her in her search once he’s gotten the money, waving the stack at her.

“Six hundred dollars, not bad,” he shrugs and puts the majority of it away. He holds out a stack to her.

“What’s this for?” She asks, not accepting the money. He rolls his eyes and pulls her close, stuffing the money in her pouch.

“For sticking here with me even though you could be caught, for starters,” he sasses. She laughs and nods, fixing her pouch and re-clipping the metal clasp. “And for saving my ass.”

“It’s nice, gotta save it,” she jokes quietly, hoping he doesn’t hear it. He turns to her, looks as though he’s going to say something but thinks better, and shakes his head as he turns around to finish searching the cabin. “Hey, grab that gun on the mantle. What is that?”

“Huh, double barrel,” Arthur muses as he pulls it from its rack. He looks it over, flipping it and aiming it, before putting it on his back. “Nice new gun. You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s leave before the law shows up,” she concurs, doing a last once over of the cabin to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything. They exit the cabin and mount up, turning their horses to follow the trail that leads from the cabin back to Valentine. 

They stop in at the saloon, Scarlet getting a bowl of oatmeal while Arthur sips a beer. The two talk about their pasts and what they’ve done, where they’ve been until they decide it’s time to get back to camp.

Scarlet stretches as she sits up from the sleeping bag. She glances to her right to see her son still sleeping soundly; the blanket of night still resides over the land. With a sigh, she quietly lifts herself to her feet and makes her way to the back of camp, sitting on the grass covered rock edge.

She doesn’t know how long she’s sitting alone before the hair on the back of her neck stands up. She turns and lets her eyes adjust to the slightly brighter place behind her, thanks to the campfire. The shadowed figure starts towards her again and joins her. She smiles and nods her head to the valley below them as Arthur sits beside her. They rest in silence for awhile, neither needing to speak.

Scarlet doesn’t remember falling asleep again, or even getting tired, but she doesn’t complain when the first rays of the sun wake her by shining bright in her face. She and Arthur must have fallen asleep at some point during their late night talk. She finds herself with her head tucked under his chin, curled up facing him with his arm draped over her waist. His hat’s over his eyes, preventing the sun from attacking him; she tries to move slowly so she won’t wake him, but once she removes his arm he starts to stir.

“Shh, go back to sleep if you need it. Thank you for stayin up and talkin with me last night,” she murmurs in his ear and presses a chaste kiss to his scruffy cheek, bumping his hat. Arthur removes his hat and gently grabs her hand, holding it on the grass. He sits up and nods, eyes searching hers.

“Not a problem. Why were you up that late anyway?” His voice is thick with sleep, his eyes tired. She sighs and shrugs, feeling a slight burn across her cheeks as they flush slightly.

“No clue. Just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” she admits, looking back over the valley as they had the night before. She sighs and sits up, knees to her chest. Arthur pushes himself up, sitting with his legs sprawled out in front of him.

“Has it happened before?”

“What?”

“The waking up at odd hours and not bein able to go back to sleep thing.”

“Sometimes. It’s not often, or not as often since I’ve had James,” she explains. They watch as deer and rabbits run from passing riders on the trail, each in their own thoughts.

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I know you don’t always sleep the best either. It’s easier to deal with when it’s just me worrying.”

“You got us now, though. You ain’t gotta be by yourself. We’re a family,” he tries to reason with her. She nods and leans back on her palms, eyes downcast.

“I know….I know. It’s just different. Going from not having anyone but my son and the O’Driscolls to worry about, to having a whole gang of people that I now fondly care for. Some more than others. Bill’s a bit much sometimes but I think his heart’s in the right place with bein here an standin behind Dutch. The girls are somethin else too, that’s for sure. An Dutch, well, Dutch is...different. He’s not like Colm or the other gang leaders. He actually seems to care about y’all and your safety. The others don’t give a shit bout losing men or nothing. S’long as they have money and food for themselves they don’t care what happens to their people.”

“Good to know I’m liked. I was hoping to make a good impression on you. We could use more guns and hunters.” Dutch walks up, startling them both. They push away from the other, cheeks tinted red as they don’t meet Dutch’s gaze. Arthur clears his throat and gets to his feet, offering Scarlet a hand. She accepts it and he pulls her up.

“It’s a different kinda family that I’m tryna get used too,” she still won’t meet his eye but Dutch just smiles. He pats her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. As long as you’re one of us, you have a safe place here. Arthur here’s supposed to go meet Javier, Charles, and Trelawny down by Blackwater. One of our guys, Sean, is being held by a big group of bounty hunters. I want him to go help get him back. Why don’t you ride with him and go meet Trelawny and Sean?”

“Uhh, sure. Yeah, yeah I can do that. I ain’t doing nothing else today. Lemme get changed and saddle Shamrock and I’ll be ready,” she quickly agrees, anything to get out from under Dutch’s watchful gaze. She hurries over to her wagon and digs through it for a change of clothes. Dutch turns to Arthur.

“Take her and introduce her to them. They need to know she’s with us too. Try and get him back as soon as possible. It’ll be a win if we can get Sean back with us,” he orders and heads back to his tent. Arthur sighs and goes to change his clothes and shave before they head out.

Arthur meets Scarlet by the hitching post. She’s talking with Hosea about something and they both look up as he approaches.

“Speak of the Devil,” Hoses teases and looks between them, knowing something was starting. He claps them both on the shoulder and climbs on Silver Dollar, nodding to Scarlet as he heads out.

“What was that about?” Arthur asks as they saddle up. Scarlet shrugs and laughs, petting Shamrock.

“We were just talkin bout how he saw us sleepin by the edge of camp this mornin and asked me bout it and what happened. Told him you found me awake and we just sat in silence before talking a little then passing out at some point. He said he didn’t believe that but he let it go,” she gives Shamrock a small kick and he starts for the path to lead them to the road. Smoke follows, keeping to Shamrock’s left. Arthur just nods, not really knowing how to tell her he had been woken by a nightmare of his own son and his son’s mother.

“So who is this Trelawny and Sean? Dutch seemed a little adamant I meet them. They important?”

“Sean? No, him not so much. He’s just one of the ones been with us awhile. When we left Blackwater, he got caught. We thought he was dead. Guess Trelawny found out that wasn’t the case. Trelawny, he’s...well, he’s not here with us. He comes and goes. I’m not sure why Dutch allows it, but he does. He helps us with information about other gangs and situations like now. He’s a scout I guess you could say.”

“Then why did he seem so eager for me to meet them?”

“Well Trelawny is good about picking up things; rumors, details, and the like about places or people and he knows which of us is best suited for the job. I reckon that’s why Dutch wants you two to meet. Sean, well, probably just so that damn Irishman has someone to talk to,” Arthur guesses and leans forward in his saddle, checking to see if he has all his guns. “You have guns and a knife?”

“Acourse. I have my Cattleman’s and my hunting knife.”

“Ever shoot a rifle?”

“Yes. Arthur, why would I need a rifle?”

“Here, take this,” he passes over his hunting rifle with a scope, “we might need a sniper.”

“Arthur, just what are we going to do?” Scarlet takes the gun and slips it over her shoulders, the gun resting diagonally across her back.

“Like I said, Sean was captured. We’re going to get him back from the bounty hunters. Don’t worry, we’ll have Javier and Charles with us,” he attempts to reassure her. She rolls her eyes but loosens her hold on Shamrock’s reins.

“Lead the way then. We can keep up if you wanna push hard,” she gestures to the road with her left hand, letting it hang loose at her side as they pick up their pace to a run.

“Would one of yous cut me down?!” Sean grouches from the tree he’s tied in, his face as red as his hair. Scarlet catches the knife Arthur tosses her, walking up to the Irishman. “Now, Lassie, who ar-” his question gets cut off as Scarlet cuts the rope holding him and he falls on his back, the breath being knocked from his lungs. She laughs and tosses Arthur his knife back, whistling for their horses. The four gallop up and stop in front of their respective owners as Sean gets to his feet once Arthur cuts the rope on his ankles.

“Yanno, you look a lot less ugly from teh ot’er angle, Art’ur!”

“Names Scarlet O’Hara. Nice to meet you, Sean,” she introduces as she pets Boaz and Taima. They both nicker and push against her hand, sniffing for a snack.

“Sean Macguire, at yer pleasure,” he responds, smiling wide and faux bows. She laughs and rolls her eyes as she holds the horses for Javier and Charles.

“You give these two some love when you get back,” she instructs and scratches their noses, earning playful nibbles from both horses. Shamrock lifts his lips and tosses his head as though laughing. Both men agree and Javier holds a hand down to Sean at Arthur’s command.

“You guys get back to camp. We’re gonna have a look around, see if we find anything worthwhile,” Arthur suggests as Scarlet waves to them and starts looting the bounty hunters of their valuables.

“Nothing but a few watches and a couple dollars off these few,” she calls to him, dropping the guy she just looted. Arthur nods and crouches over another one to search his pockets.

“About the same here. Check the tents, see if they have any medical or lock boxes,” he says, finishing up the last few bodies. She hums and sways to a lullaby in her head, digging through the belongings on the wagons and by the tents. She pops open a medical box and takes the ‘miracle cure’ from it, holding it up to Arthur for inspection. He nods and she stuffs it in her pouch as she moves on. Their horses watch them, pawing at the ground as they wait.

“Alright, I think that about does it,” Scarlet huffs, putting the last of the food she found in Shamrock’s saddle bag. “Got some canned fruit and some canned corn,” she adds as she leads Smoke over to Arthur. He thanks her and they mount up, pointing their horses for camp.

When they get there, everyone is rejoicing. There’s four cases of alcohol, two whisky and two beer, that’s set around camp for them to grab from. Scarlet grabs the food from her bags and takes them to Pearson’s wagon, leaving them on his table for later. There’s stew, thanks to the deer Arthur hunted a few days ago, and music. Arthur leads her over to the campfire where Sean has stumbled to, sitting on one of the boxes they use as a stool. Scarlet giggles as he sways, wondering how much everyone’s already had to drink. She makes a note to keep track of her count, restricting herself to one for now, two at most.

Abigail spots her and pulls her aside, letting her know that the boys are already in bed, asleep. Scarlet thanks her and they talk for a few minutes until they hear different music. Scarlet follows it to Dutch’s tent, where said man is dancing with Molly. Scarlet smiles bright and watches, arms crossed as Dutch twirls Molly, both smiling. Mary-Beth stands by her, fawning over the couple as well. She turns when someone catches her eye and Scarlet turns at the question.

“Dance with me, Mr. Morgan?”

“Ahh, I’m not much of a dancer, Mary-Beth,” he holds his hands up in apology. She pouts and nods to the duo already dancing.

“He taught you a little, right? Please, Arthur?”

“Yeah, alright,” he concedes and sets his whiskey bottle down. Scarlet clenches her jaw, giving them a smile and nod when they pass. She watches them from the side, trying to comprehend the steps by watching only.Abigail and John soon join them, followed by Susan and Uncle. Karen and Sean also join them, both stumbling in their inebriated state. Scarlet holds in a laugh at the drunken two and watches as they all spin and sway to Dutch’s music.

“Miss Scarlet, w-w-would you like to dance? You’re staring at them an awful lot,” Kieran shyly asks, stepping up to her. She blushes, casting her eyes to the ground.

“Oh, no I-I dunno how to dance, Kieran. I’m sorry, thank you though, hun,” she manages to squeak out, eyes going back to Dutch spinning Molly.

“Well, would ya like ta’ learn?” Sean asks as he appears by Kieran, bottle of whiskey in hand. Karen’s dancing with Javier now. Scarlet looks between the two men and nods slightly.

“If you think you can teach me,” she replies, fiddling with her own whisky bottle. Sean beams and drops his empty bottle, reaching for her hands. She barely has time to pass her half full bottle to Kieran before the red head is tugging her into the small clearing the others are dancing in. He shows her where she’s supposed to put her hands, one on his shoulder and the other in his own, as his other hand moves to her hip. Scarlet hesitantly obeys and takes his hand, her other gingerly placed on his shoulder. He pulls her with him as he takes a step back, steadying her as she stumbles.

“One foot atta time, Lassie,” he speaks over the music and cheers of the others. He steps forward with the same foot and Scarlet is a little more sure-footed. He continues the pattern; one step back then the same foot forward towards her. Once she has that down, he adds two more. This time one back, to the original spot, then forward and back to the original spot again. It takes a couple tries but soon she has the rhythm and they’re stepping in pace with the others. “Wanna try some flare, Lass?”

“Uhh, sure?” She isn’t sure but Sean’s been too sweet to say no to, so she agrees. Before she realizes what’s happening, Sean has spun her from his hand and Charles takes his place. She lets out a giggle as they pick the rhythm back up and he spins her, pulling her back to him.

“It’s not so hard once you learn the steps. It’s just a lot of repetition,” Charles encourages her, taking both her hands in his. “Bring your hands out,” he moves their hands so their arms are spread in front of each other, “and then you twist with this, still holding my hand,” he instructs as he twists her as such, her back to his chest with her arms crossed in front of her, still holding his hands. “Now spin the opposite way to face me again.”

She does as requested and they both grin widely. Charles spins her again, to the side this time and Uncle catches her from her spin, steadying her and bringing her back to the rhythm once more. He repeats Sean’s pace, slow and just the same four steps; back, original, forward, original, for a few minutes before showing her how to add to each side; making a total of eight steps, without flare.

They practice for a little while before he lets her spin to Javier. Javier shows her how to change the rhythm and add in her own flare. He makes sure she has the original -that Sean showed her- down before taking it the extra step. He has her smiling and giggling as he twirls and spins her. Arthur watches from the corner of his vision, jaw set as he tries to focus on just doing the basic steps with Mary-Beth. Javier passes Scarlet to Bill, who sends her spinning to Karen after their dance.

Karen and Scarlet dance for a bit, mostly swaying as they talk in hushed whispers. Karen lets Sadie dance with Scarlet when Sean asks her to dance again. The two females smile at each other as they dance. Scarlet misses the glare Arthur shoots all of the others, they just smirk and shrug, Sean mouthing something to him before Arthur turns back to Mary-Beth.

In the last two and a half months Scarlet’s been with the Van der Linde gang, she and Sadie are most definitely the closest. They’d bond over the mutual hate for the O’Driscolls and share their experiences; Scarlet often consoling Sadie when her emotions about her husband overwhelm her.

They sway side to side with their arms wrapped around the other, whispering to each other; about how Sadie misses dancing, about how she’d always be willing to dance with and teach Scarlet. Scarlet in turn tells her that she’s always loved watching people dance, but the only thing she knows how to do is one of the few line dances people made up back home. She offers to teach Sadie one day.

Sadie prompts Scarlet and they dance back in the first steps Sean taught before Dutch takes Scarlet’s free hand when Sadie spins her out from her. Sadie huffs slightly and glares playfully at the well dressed man, who winks at them, but she takes Javier’s offered hand.

“Well hello, Mr. Van der Linde. We were just talking about how we love this fine little group you have here,” she laughs as Dutch spins her out then back into his chest as Charles had, swaying for a moment before spinning her back so they’re facing one another again.

“That so? Well I’m glad you’re happy here. I know it’s not what you’re used to, seeing as you had your own homestead, but we’ve got each other,” he replies as they dance. She nods and tilts her head up at him.

“Different isn’t always bad, be it thoughts or decisions. Sometimes havin ‘nother perspective helps sort out issues or possible conflict,” she assures him, sliding her hand down his chest to fix his lapel. “Different can be good.”

Dutch just nods as he shows her new steps. He makes sure she has them down before instructing her how to add certain flares and where they should go. He helps teach her to time them right, catching her when she stumbles. He chuckles and she can feel his laughter reverberating through his chest as he helps put her back on her feet.“Think you’re ready for a dip?”

“A what?” Panic flashes across her eyes as his words process. She squeezes his hand and shakes her head no as he spins her out again. He smiles and lets go of her hand. Scarlet feels a pair of warm arms steady and turn her before her gaze meets Arthur’s. They share a smile as he takes her hand and rests the other on her hip.

“Thought they’s gon’ hog you all night,” he says, just loud enough for her to hear. She giggles and nods, resting her hand on the nape of his neck instead of his shoulder.

“Sure felt like it. I’m just glad Dutch didn’t dip me. I might’ve fell. I am getting dizzy from all the spinnin. And the alcohol,” she admits.

“Well, lucky you then. I’m not much of a dancer. I won’t spin you,” he assures her. They’re content with just swaying to the music, both oblivious to the gaggle of onlookers they’ve grown.

Neither are sure when, or who did it first, but they realize that they’re close together, chests pressing against one another. Arthur slips his hand from her hip around her back, letting his other one follow suit, holding his left wrist in his right hand, locking her in place. She’s got her arms wrapped around his neck as they sway to the slowly fading music.

“Alright everyone! Come on, back up this way!” Dutch calls. The duo look up from each other; Arthur smiles as he takes her hands and spins her once, before dipping her as the music finally fades out. He pulls her back to her feet and they start intently at one another before Scarlet clears her throat and thanks him, giving his cheek a quick peck. He squeezes her hand, reluctantly letting go as they head back to the main campfire.

“Now that we have Sean back, we can focus on getting money and finding a way back out west, but for now, rest up and enjoy the night. We can start again in the morning,” he announces and dismisses everyone; Arthur and Scarlet heading for their wagons. They bid each other goodnight and Scarlet hugs him. He pats her back and let’s her go when she pulls away. She kisses his cheek and thanks him again for dancing with her and he waves her off, pressing a kiss to her forehead.


End file.
